BDA to use ‘implosion technology’ to demolish building in minutes!

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Jan 30, 2014 at 1:56 AM Updated On : Jan 30, 2014 at 9:57 AM

Reported by Santosh Jagdev

Bhubaneswar, Jan 30:

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For the first time, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has planned to use ‘implosion technology’ to help save time, money and manpower in demolition of illegally built multi-storied buildings in the city. .

BDA signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard with a blasting company Cidco six month ago, officials say. The technology was first applied after the 2002 Bhuj earthquake in Gujarat to raze half destructed buildings to the ground.

It is a controlled blast technology in which the calculated placing of explosive material and timing of its detonation is so exact that a structure collapses on itself in minutes, minimizing the physical damage to its immediate surroundings.

“The technology is especially useful in bringing down multi-storied buildings. Various kinds of explosives are used in the demolition process,” said Liaison officer of BDA Subhranshu Mohanty.

“The use of the technology in razing building is a little expensive, but it will save time and manpower,” he said.

More importantly, it will not allow the owners of these illegal structures the time to stall the demolition midway through a court order, Mohanty pointed out. “Under the manually done process in use now, demolition of a multi-storied building can take up to 3-4 days, which provides enough time for the owners to get a court injunction. The owners of three such buildings managed to stall the demolition process by securing stay orders from the High Court. But once the new system is in place, the demolition would be over in 5-10 minutes and the owner would not get the time to stall the demolition,” he said.

SB Sarwate, an Indore-based explosion expert who has used the method to raze over 200 buildings in Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, made a video presentation before select BDA and Commissionerate police officials on Tuesday to prove its efficacy, Mohanty said.

Earlier, Vice-chairman of BDA Vishal Dev had written a letter to commissioner of police R P Sharma, seeking permission for using explosives to demolish illegal structures.

The agency has made all preparations to use the new technology. “The authority will decide on the date once police give us permission to use the explosives,” Mohanty said. To implement the technology, BDA has to seek permission from Commissonerate police, Fire Wing and Controller of Explosives, he added.

BDA has used bull-dozers and drilling machines in its ongoing demolition drive, a process that takes 3-4 days.

Operation Demolition is one of the biggest drives undertaken by the BDA against illegal constructions, enforcement officials of the BDA said. At least 32 commercial buildings in the city have no permission or clearances from the BDA and will be demolished in the near future, they added.