KOCHI: The interim shifting of debris from Jains Coral Cove, one of the to-be demolished highrises, has been completed. Prompt Enterprises, the firm selected for managing the waste, removed the debris – around 50 truckloads.
Edifice Engineering, the firm roped in for demolishing Jains Coral Cove, Golden Kayaloram and Holy Faith H2O, had been struggling to continue with the demolition due to the accumulation of concrete waste.
“We have completed the shifting of the debris from Jains Coral Cove as per the contractor’s directive. The firm has also asked us to shift the waste from Golden Kayaloram and Holy Faith H2O in the coming days,” said a representative of Prompt Enterprises.
On Sunday night, nearby residents had protested against the shifting of debris from the apartment complex. Maradu municipality chairperson T H Nadeera, who immediately reached the site and intervened, later said, “The residents mistook the shifting process for demolition due to the excessive noise of loading the debris. I visited the site and stopped the shifting work taking place at night.”
Meanwhile, a municipality council meet convened on Wednesday will take up the matter of approving Prompt Enterprises for managing the concrete waste.
“Though a special arrangement has made for the company to shift the debris from all the highrises, we will discuss the contract in detail at Wednesday’s meeting,” said Nadeera.
PCB team inspects debris dumping site
A team from the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) recently visited the debris dumping site arranged by Prompt Enterprises at Chandiroor in Alappuzha. “We visited the place before the shifting of waste began. We have asked the firm to spray water while unloading the debris to prevent the dust from spreading,” said a PCB official.
Insurance firm officials to meet residents today
As an effort to chalk out the conditions of the proposed insurance coverage for nearby residents of the controversial highrises, a meeting between officials of National Insurance Company and representatives of the residents will be held at Maradu municipality on Tuesday.
Tender participants allege discrepancy
Kochi: Alleging discrepancies in the shifting of debris and violation of tender process by Prompt Enterprises, Koottukaran Services and Rayan Traders, two firms which participated in the tender process of debris removal, have lodged complaints with the Maradu municipality on Monday. As per the complaints, Prompt Enterprises illegally shifted the debris and other materials with the support of a few officials without remitting the bank guarantee.
Meeting on implosion
A meeting was convened on Monday to discuss steps to ensure controlled implosion of the highrises on January 11 and 12. District Collector S Suhas, Fort Kochi sub-collector and officer in charge of the demolition Snehil Kumar Singh and other officials concerned attended the meeting.