– Photo : Amar Ujala
Expansion
If LDA had been alert after the Alaya Apartment accident last year, the Transport Nagar accident that happened on Saturday could have been avoided. After the Alaya accident, an order was given to conduct a safety audit of commercial buildings and apartments in the entire city. After this, a proposal was also passed by the LDA board, but this exercise remained only on paper. Now, after another accident, LDA has said to conduct a structural engineering test of the buildings for safety. On Sunday, a building has also been sealed in Transport Nagar on this basis.
Last year on 25 January 2023, the five-storey Alaya Apartment on Wazir Hasan Road suddenly collapsed completely. That day too, there was neither any earthquake nor storm or rain and neither was the apartment dilapidated. Two women of the same family died in the accident. When an investigation was done to find out why this apartment with 12 flats and a penthouse collapsed, it was found that its construction was very poor. That is why when the builder broke the floor and a part of a pillar with a drilling machine for an additional construction on the ground floor, the base was damaged and the apartment collapsed. At that time, Divisional Commissioner Roshan Jacob had ordered a safety audit of all apartments and commercial buildings. After this, a proposal was also passed in the LDA board, but nothing happened. Sources said that the proposal was passed and sent to the government, but no order came from there.
A panel of expert architects was to be formed
Then, as per the proposal passed in the LDA board meeting, a panel of registered architects was to be formed, who were to inspect the apartments and commercial buildings, so that it can be known whether the construction is as per the approved map or not. Whether the structural design of the building is correct or not. Whether the building is being used as per its capacity or more than that. Whether the construction has been done as per the quality of construction material stated by the builder or not. Whether the steel bars, cement, ballast, sand etc. are used in the right proportion or not. In such a situation, if the safety audit had been implemented, the matter of the Transport Nagar building being weak would also have come to light. It would have been known that the building has been built with many times more weight than its capacity.
Now I remember the structural test
After the building collapse in Transport Nagar on Saturday, the nearby building which was sealed by LDA on Sunday, is being said to be inspected for structural engineering. It is written in the notice that due to the collapse of the adjacent building, the structure of this building must have been damaged. In such a situation, inspection of the structure is necessary. Until the inspection is done, the building will remain sealed.
Will now be implemented
The order of safety audit at the time of Alaya Apartment might not have been implemented due to some reason, but it will be implemented now. A panel of architects will be formed for this. There will be a safety audit of the entire city. Its fee will also be fixed. – Prathamesh Kumar, VC LDA
Structural audit of multi-storey buildings under construction will also be done
Builders constructing multi-storey buildings will now have to mention the age of the building while getting the map passed. For this, the builder, architect, structural engineer and landowner will have to jointly give a certificate of the age of the building. It will have to be written in it that for how many years the building will remain completely safe. Under this, it will now be mandatory to get the safety audit of buildings 15 meters or more high done by an expert structural engineer. After the habitability certificate of any scheme is issued, the builder will be responsible for checking the structure for five years.
