KOCHI: Amidst the worries of local residents, the expert committee has finalised the demolition plan of all five Maradu apartments. The scientific sequence of demolition will be executed in multiple phases by using ammonium nitrate emulsion, delayed detonators and shock tubes. “We are using delayed detonators to weaken the columns and pillars to tilt and bring down the building in the desired angle. The buildings will come down in multiple portions. The blasting of each of them will be scientifically controlled,” said Anil Joseph, member of the expert committee.
Twin towers of Alfa Serene will fall to the middle ground. In the case of Jain Coral Cove, the building will fall on the front road and area of the demolished parking lot. Whereas, Golden Kayaloram will collapse through ‘split fall.’ The top part will fall to the front side of the building and the bottom part will fall on the backside without damaging the nearby anganwadi.
However, the officials admitted that the demolition of Holy faith H2O poses a challenge. “H2O offers a tricky challenge for us. There is a house on the rear side of the apartment. On the left, there is the backwater and water and oil pipelines pass through the front side along with the Kundannoor-Nettoor flyover. We have decided to pull down the highrise to the front road in a 39 to 45-degree angle without damaging the flyover and pipelines,” he said.
The officials have brought down almost 50 per cent load from all the buildings by removing many concrete components. “Only 40 per cent of the remaining building will touch the ground during the demolition. The remaining portion will fall on them which will result in a heap of concrete debris. If there is 50,000 tonnes of concrete on a building, only 6,000 tonnes will hit the ground in different phases. Thus, it will only make velocity of 15 mm per second and make the least impact on nearby structures,” said Joseph.
Dust outbreak
The officials are wary of dust outbreak and flying debris during the demolition.
“Though we are covering the marked floors with wired mesh and geotextile, there will be a cloud of dust owing to spread of finer particles of debris. We are taking maximum precaution to reduce the size of flying particles to avoid further damages. There will be minor spillover to backwaters near Alfa Serene,” said the structural engineer.
Soil heaving
The expert committee has brushed aside concerns about soil heaving during the demolition.
“As we have prior information about the soil strength, there is nothing to worry about the impact. If the soil has withstood the piling for these skyscrapers, it can manage the fall as well,” he added.
Initiation points
Though initiation points of the blasting will be fixed within 100 m from the apartment, the officials are yet to finalise the locations.