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Kochi: A dream home for defense personnel in the heart of the city is turning into a nightmare for its residents.
Chander Kunj Army Towers — a three-tower apartment complex of Army Welfare Housing Organization ,Wow!) Made in Silver Sand Island, vitila In 2016 – a retirement home for over 260 families reportedly had serious structural issues, making it unsafe to live in.
AWHO is a registered society committed to provide low cost and quality accommodation for serving or retired defense personnel.
The buildings, mainly Towers B and C of 29 floors, according to study reports by agencies such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, Barton Hill Government Engineering College (GEC), Thiruvananthapuram and Bureau Veritas India Limited (BVIL). They are in crisis due to design flaws, poor construction standards, excess chloride (salt) content in concrete and use of low-quality building materials.
The summary report of the BVIL, submitted to the residents in June, said that if the buildings are not strengthened, their service life in the present condition is only up to 10 years. The report also states that if they are not strengthened and one or more structural elements fail, the buildings may collapse. Residents have begun to pursue legal action against the AWHO. He alleged that instead of expediting comprehensive repairs, the AWHO was trying to hide irregularities in the construction since 2018. Though TOI tried to contact AWHO officials in Kochi, they declined to comment. A statement on its website in January said it had initiated measures to address the issues. “…some repairable abnormalities have come to the fore in the project. AWHO has initiated necessary measures to address these from 2021. BVIL is engaged in carrying out the inspection, testing and analysis in consultation with the Chander Kunj Army Towers Apartment Owners Association, under whose supervision the corrective repairs will be carried out by a reputed construction agency. of BVIL,” the statement said.
Resident Colonel (retd) Sibi George said the poor construction standards raise questions of corruption in the project. Based on George’s complaint and the court’s direction, the police registered an FIR in June 2022 against top officials of AWHO under sections 420 and 406 (cheating and criminal breach of trust) of the IPC.
“The buildings constructed in 2016 and handed over to residents in 2018 have started showing damage in 2018 itself. Initially, layers of concrete crumbled from walls and pillars, but later we found cracks in concrete beams, stairs and floor slabs, rusting of steel rods, leaks in basements and floors, and wall tiles losing their bonding. The AWHO made some cosmetic changes to reduce the visibility of the damage. Beams and columns have also rusted, cracked and crumbled. The original BVIL report has not yet been shared with the owners, George said.
“I bought the flat for Rs 75 lakh. This is our life savings and we have been cheated. As per the report of BVIL, its estimated service life of 10 years is almost over. Continued possession is risky and our lives are in danger. According to the owners’ association, the repair is estimated to cost Rs 30 crore, but it needs to evacuate the inmates,” said George.
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