Sending a strong signal against the mushrooming of illegal constructions along the coastline of Kerala, apartment complexes H2O Holy Faith and Alfa Serene were razed to the ground on Saturday.
It was following a Supreme Court directive that the buildings constructed on the banks of Vembanad Lake, a Ramsar site, in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules were pulled down. Two more apartments Jain Coral Cove and Golden Kayaloram, which were also found illegally constructed, will be demolished on Sunday.
The demolition of two towers of Alfa Serene and H2O went on as planned. All the nearby structures, including homes, offices and Kundannoor overbridge, remained intact despite the powerful explosions.
Of the three that were pulled down, H2O Holy Faith was the first one to be blasted. The controlled implosion at the apartment complex was triggered at 11.18 a.m. Though the explosives were scheduled to go off at 11 a.m., it was delayed by 18 minutes as a helicopter of the Indian Navy did a sortie near the building. The blast was delayed on safety grounds as the aircraft flew past the buildings minutes before the blast, said officials of Edifice Engineering, which undertook the demolition job. While the controlled implosion at H2O appeared to be a sophisticated affair, the blasts that took place at Alfa Serene rattled the area with its loud noise and strong vibration. Splinters could be seen flying into the nearby waterbody from the building at high velocity. Some debris also landed in the nearby waterbody.
