KOCHI: IIT Madras will conduct studies on the long-term structural stability of the apartment complexes at Mundamveli where to P&T Colony residents were rehabilitated. The proposal, estimated to cost around Rs 50 lakh, is awaiting government approval.
The study is expected to begin by March and end by May, following which repair work will be initiated by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA). Kochi corporation has proposed to fix the leak in the roofs using Rs 1 crore of the MLA fund. GCDA has said that it will establish a sewage treatment plant (STP) on the compound.
The apartment complexes were built to rehabilitate residents of P&T Colony, in Kadavanthra, whose houses used to be regularly flooded with water from the Perandoor canal during monsoons.
Construction was initiated on 70 cents of GCDA land in October 2020 by Thrissur District Labour Contract Cooperative Society. The work was completed at a cost of Rs 14.51 crore and the flats were handed over to 77 residents of P&T Colony in January 2024. The very next month, residents started facing problems such as leaking roofs and bathrooms in the top-floor apartments.
The seepage affected kitchens and bedrooms of apartments below, which was further exacerbated by a leaking septic tank and many other issues. One year into living in their new apartments, problems have only worsened, say residents.
“The situation is worse now and all 77 families face problems now. People continue to live in the apartments because we have nowhere else to go,” said Abhilash Parameswaran, president of the P&T Colony Residents Association.
“The STP proposed by GCDA is expected to come on a nearby plot of 25 cents. GCDA chairman has promised that the rest of the plot after the construction of the STP will be given to apartment residents for our use,” Abhilash added.
“Work on the STP has been cleared and construction will begin in two weeks. Also, contracts for repair work following the study by IITM will be entrusted to a new construction firm,” a GCDA official said.