Kochi : Preparations for razing down four multi-storey illegal apartment complexes entered the final stage with the work on filling explosives in the inter- connected holes drilled in the structures for the purpose being completed on Wednesday.
As the demolition using controlled implosion method was set for January 11 and 12, authorities said people living in the neighbourhood would be evacuated as a precautionary measure on the two days and ban orders under Section 144 of the CrPC imposed in the evacuation zone from 8 am to 4 pm to prevent movement of public within a 200-metre radius.
People are likely to witness the implosion from any place outside the evacuation zone, police said in a detailed advisory issued on Wednesday night.
All traffic airborne, waterborne and land based are prohibited in the evacuation zone, it said, adding, since all buildings have been charged with explosives, none shall fly drones from immediate effect.
Earlier, Kochi police commissioner and inspector general Vijay Sakhare took a stock of the preparations being made to bring down the illegal structures, as had been ordered the by the Supreme Court for violation of norms regulating coastal zones.
Meanwhile, residents living in the neighbourhood have approached the Kerala High Court , seeking its intervention to ensure they received adequate compensation amount in case their houses were damaged during the demolition.
Edifice Engineering and Vijay Steels and Explosives companies, which have been engaged for the work, completed the work of filling the explosives on Wednesday, setting the stage for the demolition of the apartments in the Maradu municipal area.
The intermediate walls of the buildings have been knocked down through pre-demolition works and the apartments are standing on bare structures. Explosives have been filled in the inter-connected holes of the structure.
According to Edifice officials, the demolition will be carried out safely without causing any damage to buildings in the neighbourhood.
“I would request all the residents — there is nothing they should fear. No vibrations... nothing much. It is already a marshy land,” a company official said.
The 19-floor H2O Holyfaith apartment complex with 90 flats and the Alfa Serene complex with 73 flats would be demolished on January 11.
While the 17-floor Jain Coral Cove apartment complex with 122 flats would be razed at 11 am on January 12, the Golden Kayaloram with 40 flats and 17 floors would be demolished at 2 pm, authorities said.
Entry to water bodies around the flat towers, part of the exclusion zone, was also prohibited during the demolition process, police said.