At least three buildings, including two houses, near Irumpanam suffered damage on Sunday during the shifting of a 700-tonne Vacuum Gas Oil Hydro Desulphurisation Unit (VGO HDS) to Ambalamugal.
According to the traffic police, the structures, all located within a 150-metre stretch, suffered damage even as the heavy equipment, being transported on a huge 190-wheel trailer truck, reached the Seaport-Airport Road from the Irumpanam waterways. However, no cases have been registered as the BPCL authority later assured the affected persons of compensation.
The shifting process started around 11.30 a.m. after the 48-metre-long and 6.5-metre-wide unit reached Irumpanam from Kochi through the waterways and it was taken to the BPCL premises in Ambalamugal late in the evening.
“Traffic from the Kakkanad direction was regulated as soon as the unit entered the Seaport-airport stretch near the Chitrapuzha bridge while vehicles in the return direction were completely diverted to other roads till it passed the Puthiya road junction by around 1.30 p.m.,” officials said.
