GHMC’s Experiment To Blow Up Illegal Building Using Implosion Technology Fails  

Hyderabad: The GHMC’s attempt to blow up an illegal building using implosion technology on Monday was a big flop. The explosion brought down the first floor but the remaining four levels were left leaning dangerously. The civic body has now decided to manually demolish the building.

However, Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao congratulated GHMC and warned illegal builders saying a similar fate would be meted out to them.

The illegal building being built on Plot No. 22m SIET Colony in Guttala Begumpet was owned by one Raj Shekar Reddy from Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh. The method included strategic placing of explosives on the stilts and timing their detonation so that the structure collapses on itself within seconds, minimising damage to the surroundings.

It may be recalled that 19 buildings were razed to the ground just within 10 seconds by a controlled explosion in China in January this year. After the demolition, not a sign of the existence of the buildings, must bigger than the one demolished in Hyderabad, was left.

Also Read: 19 buildings in Chinese city of Wuhan are blown up in the blink of an eye

On Monday, the work started at 9am and packing of the explosives was completed at 1.40pm. The implosion was set for 2.15pm. After a big blast, the building was meant to collapse like a pack of cards, but in this case, detonators were not set in one of the pillars to avoid any damage to another building beside the illegal construction. As a result, just the stilt floor collapsed.

Mayor Bonthu Rammohan later told media that they were 75 percent successful in using the implosion technology. He said the remaining floors will be demolished using buldozers.

A representative of Uttam Blastech, which performed the operation, said, "We were too cautious, as our idea was to protect the adjacent structure. This was the first attempt to implode a building by the company. In the absence of drawing, design and the quality of construction, we assumed a few things which were not correct."

The GHMC has asked JNTU’s professor of civil engineering Dr Ramana Rao to look into the matter.

Dr Rao opined, “The GHMC workers should have drilled and fitted explosives on all four sides. But keeping in mind the building next to it, they left out the part facing the neighbouring structure which led to a partial collapse.” He said there was no immediate danger from the leaning building, but those entering it should be careful. It would take three or four days to manually remove the bricks and to implode the structure again.