Putting to rest speculation about the fate of the remaining 11-storey building in Moulivakkam, a western suburb near Porur, the State government on Monday announced that it would be demolished on Wednesday afternoon.
It may be recalled that one of the two towers under construction collapsed on 28 June, 2014, killing 65 workers. The second tower was declared unsafe, and, in May this year, the Supreme Court gave its consent for demolishing it after going through a report submitted by a three-member expert committee.
The demolition was delayed due to various reasons including adverse weather conditions.
On Monday, an order issued by C. Vijayaraj Kumar, Member Secretary, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, said adequate measures had been taken to ensure the safety of people living close to the building that would be demolished using the “implosive method.”
It was in June 2013 that the CMDA issued planning permission to Prime Sristi Housing Private Ltd for constructing 82 homes on two 11-storey blocks in Moulivakkam Village Panchayat.
Mr. Kumar said that families living in houses around the site would be accommodated in a hall at Madanandapuram. Ambulances and fire tenders would be deployed, an official note said.
Appealing to the people not to panic, the CMDA Member Secretary said the demolition work would begin only after ensuring that all people living within 100 metres around the building are evacuated.
Noting that weather should be clear during the demolition, an official said: “We wanted to ensure that nothing goes wrong when the tower is being pulled down. Also, it should not impact the surrounding buildings. The structure has been weakened over the last three months to enable implosion.”
