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Once plush apartments, Grayline Cove is today a crumbling mess that poses a threat to neighbouring homes
Towering trouble returns to torment
By Marisa de Silva
Grayline Cove was once a pleasant little apartment block in the heart of Rajagiriya. But while construction flaws were to soon spell disaster for this building, bureaucratic bungling between the Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Municipal Council and the Urban Development Authority (UDA) resulted in further deterioration with the apartment owner keeping "mum".

'Grayline Cove - No 12R' was constructed by Grayline Homes, a subsidiary of the now defunct Grayline Group of Companies. The dilapidated three-storey apartment building, comprising six apartments (two per floor), ground floor parking facilities and six water tanks on the flat roof, overhead, is now a major hazard to residents of Royal Gardens whose homes are around it.

Their plight was highlighted in the article titled 'Towering trouble', published in The Sunday Times of September 28, 2003. However, the danger to those living around this apartment block still continues. What's left of 'Grayline Cove' is a dismal version of what it once was. The apartment walls are cracked and moss-covered, with severe white-ant infestations.

The pipes and the overhead tanks leak, not only weakening the walls of the apartment block itself but also seeping into a neighbouring house.

For Royal Gardens residents who thought their saga was over, when after much petitioning, lobbying and stress, a decision had been made by the UDA to demolish the sections in the apartment block that were a danger in 2003, their hopes have turned into a nightmare. In August 2003, the Municipal Commissioner had posted two notices on the walls of 12R that the dangerous sections of the building were to be demolished, according to a Gazette Notification. The authorities had also written to Grayline Homes, giving them 14 days to demolish 12R.

Demolition work had finally started on November 24, 2003 but by mid-December, only parts of the cracked walls, on the side of Royal Gardens, had been demolished. Ironically, Grayline had begun simultaneous repair work on another section of the condemned building.

Then the UDA Chairman had written to Grayline warning that it was violating instructions and that the contractor carrying out demolition had to adhere strictly to the conditions laid out. Grayline had also been asked to submit a weekly progress report on the demolition by an independent engineer approved by the UDA.

However, by January 2004, the demolition work had ground to a halt and the status remains the same up to now. Since then the residents of Royal Gardens have been writing to authorities seeking redress once again, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, one owner of an apartment at 12R, though not living in the building, has begun reconstruction.

"The reconstruction work has flouted building regulations," claim the perturbed residents of Royal Gardens. They question the legitimacy of reconstruction of this condemned building, adding that it never had any permanent residents. They have queried from the Municipal Commissi-oner, the UDA chairman and the Director General, the Prime Minister and Kotte parliamentarians as to how re-construction work was allowed on a condemned building, without approval from the relevant authorities and without adhering to regulations set out by the Director Buildings in 2003.

A complaint has been lodged by the residents in this regard at the Welikada Police Station on August 22, this year. Following up on their letters, the Prime Minister's office has instructed UDA Chairman, in a letter dated August 31, to look into this matter and take action. However, the Prime Minister's office is yet to get a reply.

In another development, the Municipal Engineer had written to the UDA’s Legal Director, saying that all owners of the apartments in 12R had been notified to bring down the dangerous sections of their building.

As there has been no response, the Municipal Council's Planning Committee had decided to demolish the dangerous sections itself. But as the Municipality does not have the equipment or the personnel to carry out demolition work, the engineer had sought the advice of the UDA. (See box for UDA response).
While the different authorities send letters back and forth, the residents of Royal Gardens have to grit their teeth and live in fear, with a dilapidated building about to collapse on them.

Report of Director Buildings is awaited
The Structural Engineer representing the apartment owners of 'Grayline Cove' has submitted a report to the UDA, requesting permission to restore the building as it could still be made structurally safe, said UDA Director General K.V. Dharmasiri.

“The report was submitted at a meeting held with me 10 days ago, with two structural engineers from the Department of Buildings also in attendance. The Director of the Department of Buildings, W.S. Molligoda, is looking through the report and will report back with his assessment and expert advice, within the next 15 days,” he said.

As about three columns of the building have already been underpinned (material or masonry used to support a structure, such as a wall), with only one more column to go, the building might be made safe enough to restore, he said.

"However, I will not make any decisions without the certification of the Director Buildings and will only act upon his advice," Mr. Dharmasiri added.

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