Aftermath of Porur’s tragedy: A brief report

After the collapse of the twelve storey building in Porur, Chennai; Many doubts and questions has lingered in the home buyers’ minds. As the debris were cleared and the reason for the collapse has been found to be the lack of proper structural engineering, these tragic accidents pulls down the market sentiments of people down towards purchasing apartments and inhibits the demand in realty market.

In spite of several approvals and soil tests approved by the government, these accidents make people lose the trust over developers and the whole building approval system the government has at present. Every home buyer’s concern now is how to ensure the quality of the building before purchasing it. Experts say a deep analysis of the data over distribution of load and soil quality has to be made before laying the foundation for the building.

Another concern for any typical home buyer is how to ensure the financial protection of a under construction building he purchased. A major chunk of these developers doesn’t insure their buildings to avoid the additional costs they may incur. Since fire and earthquake insurance doesn’t cover for faulty construction and under construction projects, the home buyers are left hopeless without any help financially.

The government has taken its own steps to ensure the safety of  completed and under construction buildings. As their first move nineteen teams has been constituted by the Chennai metropolitan development authority to inspect over 700 apartment projects that are still under construction. These teams are set to look for any deviations on structural engineering and violations of building plans.