Kanpur residents urge CM Yogi to demolish apartments over ‘inferior quality’

In Kanpur, residents from a gated community – the KDA Residency – staged a protest on Saturday about the dilapidated structure of the buildings. The residents in the city – about 100 km from Uttar Pradesh’s capital city of Lucknow – protested by pasting banners outside the community, urging chief minister Yogi Adityanath to demolish the society’s apartments.

“Severe cracks have appeared in the buildings,” the demonstrators highlighted, news agency ANI reported. Apartments weren’t made of the quality that was promised, and inferior construction material was used, they alleged, adding that the authorities have not taken any action.

According to a report by Live Hindustan, KDA officials and an IIT team earlier travelled to Kanpur’s Kidwai Nagar O Block previously when a crack in a beam was found. After inspecting the building’s condition, they concluded that it was safe to live in the community’s apartments.

Additionally, residents assert that after a recent downpour, the basement was flooded and a crack emerged in the beam. They say that the structures’ claimed quality was lacking and it appears that lower-grade materials were used in their construction.

The KDA team performed the rebound hammer test on September 2 and determined that the concrete’s quality was sufficient, according to Live Hindustan’s report. Identical outcomes were reported by an IIT team that also conducted the test.

Residents, however, alleged that the KDA officials manipulated reports to protect themselves, and during the protest, they shouted slogans, accusing them of corruption. They claim that there were cracks visible all over the structures and that there was a constant worry of them collapsing.

(With inputs from ANI and Live Hindustan)