Narrow escape as TNUHDB flats collapse minutes after evacuation of residents
CHENNAI: At least 28 families escaped disaster by a hair’s breadth as an entire block of the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) apartment collapsed at Tiruvottiyur barely minutes after families were evacuated around 11 am on Monday.
While no casualties have been reported so far, the household items of all 28 families were buried under the debris and personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services and Police Department have been engaged in search operations to check if anybody is stuck at the collapse site. Four houses in the neighbouring block were also damaged in the incident.
There are 14 blocks in total at the quarters housing 336 families. It was the D Block that housed the families which collapsed. Police said that the families noticed cracks in certain portions of the building in Saturday night and since they widened on Monday, the families moved out of the building. While Fire and Rescue personnel also reached the spot, the entire building collapsed. Following the collapse, Chief Minister MK Stalin assured that alternate houses will be arranged for the people who lost their homes. “I have issued an advisory to officials to arrange alternate houses for people who were part of the tenement,” he said.
Later in the evening, MSME Minister TM Anbarasan handed over cheques of Rs 1 lakh each to the 28 families. While addressing the media earlier in the day, he said that the tenement was constructed in 1993 and it collapsed after being damaged due to prolonged usage and climatic conditions. “In Greater Chennai Corporation there are 23,000 such houses which were constructed before 40 to 45 years and the current government has decided, in a phased manner, to demolish these houses which are not suitable for living,” he said. He added that in areas like Kotturpuram, steps have been taken to evacuate people and construct new tenements. “MLAs have also undertaken the job of evacuating people from their constituencies,” the Minister said.
Chief Minister MK Stalin ordered alternative housing arrangements and an assistance of Rs 1L to the families
CHENNAI: As the collapse of a slum board building in Tiruvottiyur brought the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) into the spotlight again, a retired engineer of the board blamed the incident on poor maintenance by both the residents and the board.
The former chief engineer of the board clarified that the TNUHDB would only carry out maintenance works on common areas like stairs and corridors. “Residents should maintain the inner and private portions. However, both the parties failed to do their part, “he said, pointing out that the allocation of funds for repair and maintenance was done only once in five years and was meagre.
“Any leak from water or sewer pipelines should be attended to immediately, as seepage would weaken the building. The board should create awareness among the residents about the proper maintenance of buildings,” he said.
Meanwhile, Venessa Peter of Information
and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) requested the State government to put in a mechanism to conduct periodic quality audits of TNUHDB buildings.
“Presently, the authorities take up reconstruction of weaker buildings only after cracks are reported,” she said, adding that the government should consider the livelihood of the families while giving them alternate accommodation.
There should be a specific timeline for demolition and reconstruction of dilapidated tenements, she said.
“A few months ago, the residents in Kotturpuram slum board tenement were told that the building will be demolished and reconstructed. Following this, they vacated the building. But, as the board kept on delaying the work, the residents returned to the old structure,” she said.
When asked about the allegation of poor maintenance, TNUHDB managing director M Govinda Rao said that the reason for the collapse would only be ascertained after experts study the site. “Anna University professors have been invited to study the building. Only after the study would we be able to say whether the cause was poor soil quality or other reasons. The stability of other blocks will also be studied and a decision to demolish and reconstruct will be taken based on that,” he added.