Phoenix residents in ‘quake-like’ scare

THE rehabilitation of three Phoenix properties is under way after families were forced to evacuate their homes when their boundary banks collapsed and earthquake-like foundational cracks emerged.

The residents, who live in the Rainham housing development in Greenbury Drive, have accused the developer, Woodglaze Trading, of shoddy workmanship.

Woodglaze is linked to controversial property developer Jay Singh, his wife Shireen Annamalay and son Ravi Jagadasan.

Singh was building the Tongaat Mall when it collapsed in 2013, killing two construction workers and injuring 29 others.

Phoenix firemen who were called out to homes a week ago declared the properties unsafe for occupation, residents said. They said they felt as if they were in the middle of an earthquake – when the ground began to crack and sand cascaded towards their homes.

“The sounds of shudder and cracks were frightening,” said one resident.

An elderly occupant also suffered a panic attack when she saw a sand bank collapse behind her home, and had to be rushed to hospital.

Glen Naidoo of KZN VIP Protection Services said the complex was part of low-cost housing developments, and a portion of a hill was excavated to build the homes.

It has also been alleged that the retaining walls that support the banks were not completed.

Levi Govindsamy Nair, a 41-year-old security manager who lives at one of the properties with his wife and two sons, said it was not the first time this has happened.

He is demanding to see the engineer’s plans before returning home.

“The bank collapsed twice before and the greatest concern now is our safety. When we bought the house in March, we noticed that the retaining wall at the back appeared unsafe.

“We knew it was not going to hold up the sand bank. I sent e-mails to the developers for engineering certificates to see if the wall was passed, but to date have not received feedback,” he said.

“From the outset we’ve been living in fear and we don’t even allow our kids to play in the backyard because of this.”

Nair said a meeting was held with Woodglaze developers.

They allegedly blamed a nearby school for the problem.

“They claimed the school’s foundation was sinking, and have approached the school, which allegedly has their stormwater drain running under the homes.”

Nair said at this stage it was all a blame game.

“The school is blaming them and they are blaming the school. Nobody knows what is going on.”

The three affected families are unclear when they will return home.

Woodglaze’s general manager, Pravesh Inderjeeth, said they were doing everything they could to resolve the matter.

He blamed the inclement weather and the uncontrolled overflow of stormwater discharge for the landslide.

“The problem was reported to the school principal over a year ago and the Department of Public Works in June 2017, and no response has been received to date.

“The developer lodged a complaint with the Building Inspectorate department of the eThekwini Municipality to attend to the problem. Correspondence and e-mails were being sent to various departments to deal with the problem on hand,” he said.

Inderjeeth said a site meeting, arranged by the developers, was held about three weeks ago with city officials and the engineer. Concerns about problems with the stormwater drainage having an impact on the walls were discussed.

“The officials of the eThekwini Municipality responded with an undertaking to address the problem with the principal of the school. The inclement weather conditions exacerbated the problem, which resulted in the landslide.”

He said the homeowners were evacuated and alternate accommodation sought.

“Remedial work is currently being undertaken by the developer to secure the bank and reconstruct the wall.”

The city’s head of communications, Tozi Mthethwa, said they were aware of the situation and served “several dangerous situation notices” on the developer.

“As much as the unmanaged stormwater emanating from the school lends to the problem, it is not the sole cause of the landslip, as we are of the opinion that the trigger was the excessive excavations along the lower-lying properties,” she said. “We await an engineer’s report from the developer, which will identify the cause of the failure.

“Essentially, the developer is required to carry out the remedial work and claim civilly from the… property owner if necessary.”

The school principal could not be reached for comment.