Palakkad water tank collapse ahead of demolition sparks row over lack of warning

A row has erupted over the collapse of the Kerala Water Authority’s overhead water distribution tank, which was marked for demolition, at Kollengode town in Palakkad on Sunday evening, with panchayat officials and the KWA contractor trading allegations over whether the local body and residents were informed about the demolition job. 

The collapse damaged the wall of a village office and uprooted a tree, which fell onto an electric post and damaged it. No one was injured.

Kollengode panchayat vice president Shivan said the panchayat and residents were not informed before the demolition was undertaken. "Water Authority officials told the panchayat about a month ago that contractors would demolish the tank. Following this, we inspected the site and informed the authorities that residents should be alerted before the demolition was carried out. However, neither the panchayat officials nor the residents were informed when the work was undertaken on Sunday evening,” Shivan said.

According to Shivan, the tree that fell onto the electric post should have been uprooted before the work began. The electricity supply had not been switched off at the time either, he said.

Contractor Abdul Kareem, however, disputed the allegation. He said the Water Authority had informed the panchayat officials, the police station and the fire force that demolition was being done. 

According to Kareem, the work was undertaken following complaints about the deteriorating condition of the building. News reports had also highlighted the old condition of the structure, following which officials decided that it needed to be demolished immediately, he told Onmanorama.

“We had been slowly undertaking the work, and the entire building was supposed to be demolition on Monday night. However, it unexpectedly collapsed on Sunday evening,” Kareem said.

Kareem said the tree that fell was a badam tree and had been left standing because autorickshaw drivers were reluctant to have it felled as it provided shade. The work continued with the tree in place, he said, adding that the incident occurred on a Sunday when nobody was present at the premises.

The damaged wall of the village office and the electric post were now being repaired, he said. 

According to Kollengode police, the contractor had legally obtained the tender and was licensed to carry out the work. "But he did not alert the police that the work was currently underway," police said, adding that no case was registered so far.