Maradu demolition: Gone in 10 seconds, but nothing to sneeze at

Kochi: Day 1 of Kochi’s demolition derby was over in 10 seconds. That was all it took to bring down, in a controlled implosion, the first of four multi-storey luxury apartment complexes near the shoreline of the Vembanad lake. The second took a bit longer, but that was because it comprised of twin towers.

Two more high-rises are to be imploded Sunday. The four waterfront properties were ruled by the Supreme Court to be in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules, meaning they were too close to the water body.

The demolitions in the Maradu suburb of Kochi had been the talk of town, and attracted thousands of onlookers, all of whom were kept beyond a 200 m perimeter.

The drill began at 10.30 Saturday morning with the sounding of the first siren. With Section 144 in force in the neighbourhoods, and the vantage point of Kundanoor-Thevara Bridge declared no-go, demolition tourist thronged under the bridge to see the 19-storey Holy Faith H₂O skyscraper impoded.

The second siren went off at 11 am. Two Navy choppers made a surveillance flight after which the third siren was sounded. Then at 11.15, after a long silence, multiple explosions in very quick succession brought the skyscraper down upon itself.

It took all 10 seconds. There was not even a minor tremor and the report was no louder than a Diwali firecracker. But thick dust from the demolition site blanketed the entire area in no time.

Barely a few minutes after the first implosion, the siren was sounded for the next blast to dismantle the twin towers of Alfa Serene Apartments. By 11.40 am they were gone too.

While the onlookers clapped and jostled for videos, the authorities heaved a sigh of relief as the first day of the demolition derby went off with no major damage to the nearby houses and buildings. Even the gate and compound wall of Holy Faith remained intact after the blast.

But a major portion of the rubble of Alfa Serene fell into the Vembanad Lake. But that was how it was planned, according to district collector S Suhas, to minimise damage to houses in the adjacent plots.

Though Fire and Rescue teams sprayed water on the demolition sites, dust billowed from the blasts and blanketed the entire area. Many onlookers broke out in sneezes and some in a rash.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the legs will be knocked out from under Jains Coral Cave and Golden Kayaloram.

With the successful demolition of the apartment complexes, the major challenge for the authorities now is to cart the rubble away. More than 42,000 tonnes of concrete debris is lying in the compounds of Holy Faith H₂O and Alfa Serene. Clearing it all, and the 30,000 tonnes more expected to accrue from the other two is likely to take 70 days.

A private firm has been contracted to remove the rubble, which will be transported to its two stockyards in Aroor and Chanthiroor in Alappuzha district. The firm has paid Rs 36 lakh to the municipal authorities.

The debris will be converted to manufactured sand (m-sand) and other reusable concrete granules.