Illegal blasting troubling city

Lack of supervision dangerous: Police

There are strict guidelines to be followed when blasting at building construction sites. For one, a certified agency must be used for this work and since this doesn’t come cheap, unscrupulous builders flout the rules.

Not using a certified blasting agency is common along the IT corridor, where there are some 500 ongoing construction sites and the area has layers of rock that require blasting.

Deccan Chronicle can reveal that less than 10 per cent of builders obtained police permission before they started blasting last year. It is residents of the locality who are affected by uncontrolled blasting and disregard of the rules.

Small independent buildings and high rise buildings are coming up in this area. It’s the independent owners and small builders who mostly flout the rules and employ blasting agents who are not certified; big builders and major firms rarely do so.

Employing a certified blasting agency can be expensive and the safety procedures and equipment to be used during blasting adds to the cost.

Unauthorised agents supply the explosive material and manpower at a comparatively lower price and complete the work more quickly.

Though there are no incidents of accidents reported during blasting, the effect of it afterwards is a major concern.

Since the blasts are carried out in an uncontrolled manner, the noise they make can be heard for up to 250 metres and echoes for around 15 minutes.

“We feel the vibration effect of the blast. Sometimes it’s like the building will come down,” says Raghava Raju, a resident of Manikonda.