The Bangalore Development Authority, often in the dock over layout formation in the recent days, now has a feather in its cap. It has effectively harnessed the advances in building technology to construct precast apartments.
The precast apartments constructed in Doddabanahalli and Alur are referred to as “mobile apartments” by the BDA since the whole apartment has been made at the factory site and later transported to the construction site, where they have been assembled one on top of another. The flats in these apartments are now being allotted to the families displaced from Sarakki lake.
The government has directed allotment of 500 such flats and 200 beneficiaries have already been identified by draw of lots.
“This is the first time the technology is used in Bengaluru. It has been used on a trial basis in Mumbai and New Delhi. We had visited these sites before adapting the technology in the City. It is popular in New Zealand and Australia,” a BDA official said.
In the case of flats at Alur, the walls have been made using precast technology whereas beams and columns are precast for Doddabanahalli flats. The foundation has been laid with the same technology at both the locations. There is no change in the project cost and the only additional work is to train labourers in assembling the precast segments, the official said.
Certified by IIT
The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee has certified the Doddabanahalli project while the one at Alur has been okayed by Technical Advisory committee and IISc professors. The life of the project is put at 100 years, but with maintenance such as whitewash every five years. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board too has approved the precast technology.
It takes 20 months to complete a ground floor plus three-storey project with conventional method whereas with precast technology the project could be finished in 12 months.
“There is zero construction wastage in precast, compared to conventional method. The quality of construction is also better as there is inspection at every assembling step. The only problem in this type of construction is that walls or beams cannot be easily nailed. A hole needs to be drilled first. This is because of the steel in the walls and beams” the official said.
He said that the BDA was yet to get feedback as people started to move into the Alur flats only recently. The work on the flats in Doddabanahalli is yet to be completed and they will be notified for allotment after two months.
The BDA has constructed 700 1BHK flats in Alur, each priced at Rs 11 lakh; 700 2BHK flats in Doddabanahalli priced at Rs 25 lakh while 3BHK flats are priced at Rs 35 lakh.
The precast technology has successfully been made use of in constructing flyovers and underpasses in the City.
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