FAILURE OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS AT EARLY AGE

By Sri P.Suresh Babu.B.Tech.,

In the past few years, it is observed that Majority of the

Government Buildings like School Buildings, Hostel Buildings,
Residential Quarters and other Major structures constructed by
various Engineering Departments which were constructed
under the supervision of Qualified civil Engineers and well
experienced Civil Engineers are showing signs of failure at a
very early age of 15 years.

In this case I Prefer to inform signs of failure means like

exposure of Steel Reinforcement in Roof slab, Roof Beams,
Columns of Building, cracks in load bearing walls/ non load
bearing walls etc. It does not mean that the structure is totally unfit
and has to be dismantled. Even though these structures are not totally
collapsed, but the inmates and General Public fear about the structure
collapse, as it failed to satisfy the serviceability criterion as
stipulated in IS CODE456-2000.

In such a situation many Engineers prefer to dismantle the total

structure and reconstruct the structure. But it is high time to analyze
and think why the structures are showing signs of failure at such an
early age of 15 years against the minimum stipulated life of 50 Years.
With my experience as a Civil Engineer in Roads and Buildings
Department since 1986, the following are the general omissions
responsible for early signs of failure.

“SMALL THINGS IF TAKEN CARE WILL LEAD TO

PERFECTION. BUT PERFECTION IS NOT A SMALL
THING.”

The above proverb needs to be kept in mind by all Civil Engineers

while constructing structures like Buildings and Bridges. It is my
personal opinion that the premature signs of failure in Government
Buildings is not due to less usage of cement in construction, but
due to inadequate care and supervision of Department
Engineers. At the same time the structures constructed by individual
house owners adjoining our Government Buildings, which were
constructed under the supervision of unqualified masons are doing
well compared to Government Buildings. This point is to be examined
very carefully by us and we have to be more careful and meticulous to
avoid public criticism. The following are the few observations during
my field inspection of recently constructed Government Buildings of 15
years age.

(1) Exposure of Steel Reinforcement in Roof Slab and Roof

Beam totally or partially.

(2) Cracks in walls and settlement of Flooring,

(3) Damp patches in walls and peeling of Plastering.

(4) Leakages in Roof slab and plumbing joints

Due to the above mentioned defects, everyone feels that the structure is
likely to collapse in short time which is not true in many cases. Even then is
it not our responsibility to avoid such complications, to build confidence of
occupants when an unqualified mason’s Building is well and looking good. If the
same situation continues no person prefer to approach Government Department
Engineers. Even some of the Buildings are being entrusted to consultants who are
less qualified i.e., Diploma holders or others. Many of us say that it is all due to
corrosion of steel. My question is that when the same steel is used by private
owners why the steel is not getting corroded.

CONDITION OF GOVERNMENT QUARTERS CONSTRUCTED IN 1988 (26

YEARS OLD) IN NELLORE CITY WHICH BECAME UNSERVICEBLE IN 26
YEARS AGE
CONDITION OF GOVERNMENT QUARTERS
CONSTRUCTED IN 1988 (26 YEARS OLD) IN NELLORE
CITY. PLANTS HAVE BECOME TREES IN WALLS DUE TO
NEGLEGENCE BY USER DEPARTMENT
CONDITION OF GOVERNMENT QUARTERS
CONSTRUCTED IN 1988 (26 YEARS OLD) IN NELLORE
CITY. A TESTIMONY OF VERY POOR QUALITY
CONSTRUCTION AND POOR MAINTENANCE
VERY POOR QUALITY OF BRICK MASONRY
CONSTRUCTION WITHOUT PROPER CURING.
The above Quarters are now proposed for dismantling the total
structure and reconstruct the same with huge Public Exchequer.

The following are some of the reasons which are responsible, for
poor condition of Government Buildings.

1) Inadequate cover or no cover to Reinforcement.

IS 456-2000 has given very high importance to cover of
Reinforcement. But many of us do not understand the seriousness of
it. The cover to reinforcement is a dominant factor to be attended
very carefully during construction of Buildings. We must cast
cover blocks of size 50x50x40 mm with Cement mortar (1:2) with a
small binding wire piece placed in each block, not less than 15 days in
advance to casting of concrete. That means cover blocks must be
available at site in advance and should be cured for minimum 15 days,
before they are placed under reinforcement, for casting of concrete.
There are plastic cover blocks available in the market and are
recommended by IS codes very well. The provision of adequate cover
as stipulated in IS CODE prevents ingress of moisture in to concrete
and avoid corrosion of steel. Because we do not plan cover blocks in
advance which looks very simple and easy, we place some stones
under reinforcement while starting of concrete and they get displaced
due to movement of concrete workers, finally the reinforcement
touches the centering sheets without any cover. We cast concrete
without noticing this lapse and it creates the biggest problem. After 21
days we remove the centering shutters and then only we notice
that there is no cover to reinforcement and steel is exposed
partially which is supposed to be inside of concrete. As a
solution we plaster this surface with cement mortar and forget
the matter. But nature will not allow us to forget the matter. It
discharges its job of sending moisture in to concrete which
cannot be prevented by plastering and finally leads to corrosion of
steel. It is an astonishing fact that the Buildings far away from sea
coast like Udayagiri etc are also showing corrosion in reinforcement of
Roof slab because of this lapse. From this we can conclude that a
small negligence is making all the difference and bringing very bad
name to Government Department Engineers. So we must adhere to
this procedure of providing cured cover blocks under reinforcement.

PHOTO SHOWING NO CONCRETE COVER TO REINFORCEMENT AND

ONLY PLASTERING IS AVAILABLE WHICH CAN NEVER RESIST
CORROSION.
(2) Usage of Poor Quality of Water in mixing of
concrete and Curing of concrete
IS 456-2000 clearly specified that water used for mixing of
concrete and Curing of concrete shall have a PH Value more than
6, which means that water should not be hard and acidic. Generally
Potable Water (drinking water) is suitable for mixing and curing of
concrete. But in many villages good quality water will not be readily
available and at times scarcity of drinking water may be there or may
be available far away from site. In such a situation the contractors for
the work prefer to use the water available nearer to site, without
verifying the suitability for concrete. Naturally the Ground water either
from bore or from well is hard and have a PH of less than 6 and not
suitable for concrete. We too do not bother to test and use the water.
This gives rise to poor strength of concrete and more corrosion of
steel. In such situations when the Buildings are located near sea
coast, or in places where good quality of water is not available, the
contractor shall be paid extra water lead and insisted to bring
good quality of water in the interest of the life of the
structure. Many Engineers do not prefer to allow this extra
payment and ask the contractor to meet in the overhead
charges provided in the data which is never considered by the
contractor and finally for the sake of this small amount in thousands
we are sacrificing the life of structure and in turn wasting the public
money and getting bad reputation.

In some cases many Engineers feel that good quality water is

required for mixing only and water used for curing need not be that
much good which is a wrong notion and responsible for early damage
of Buildings.
INADEQUATE CURING SHOWS WHITE COLOUR OF CONCRETE INSTEAD
OF GREY COLOUR

(3) Improper compaction of concrete and excess

water cement Ratio
Everyone should keep in mind that minimum water shall be used
for mixing of concrete with water cement ratio ranging between
0.35 and 045. However in practice many field officers prefer to use
more water for easy workability and easy finishing. Because of this, it
is easy for masons for finishing, but it is detrimental to concrete. As
per code the presence of 5% voids in concrete reduce the
compressive strength of concrete by 30%. The presence of voids
may be due to more water- cement Ratio or due to inadequate
compaction.

In remote locations the contractors do not have vibrators for

compaction of concrete and prefer to use more water in mixing so that
it flows and finishing can be done with a hand trowel by mason. All of
us should keep in mind that compaction of concrete by vibrators is
compulsory and concrete shall be compacted with minimum water-
cement Ratio to achieve maximum density without any voids. This high
water- cement Ratio is responsible for leakages due to presence of
more voids in concrete and less compressive strength and also
responsible for corrosion of steel.

(4) Delayed Curing of concrete and curing for short

period of less than 28 days
 Every one of us knows that concrete shall be cured for a
minimum period of 28 days to achieve required compressive
strength. Concrete requires more water in the first 48 hours after
casting, as it achieves 41% of desired compressive strength. But
in practice curing with water is started on the 3 r d day nearly after 36
hours of casting concrete, due to various reasons. Because of this
delayed curing the concrete shall not achieve its designed strength
and is of poor quality. Even this curing commenced very late is
done for one week and further curing is stopped by the
contractor. As per IS Code the concrete attains 74.25% of its desired
compressive strength in 7 days if curing is commenced immediately
after 12 hours of casting of concrete. Generally we commence curing
late and stop curing early, finally giving a concrete of less strength.
Hence all of us should closely monitor the commencement of
curing and the curing shall be continued for 28 days irrespective of
Grade of cement with potable water. Unless we insist for this, it is not
possible to achieve required strength and dense concrete.

(5) Damp patches in walls due to leakages at roof level

or due to leakages in joints of Plumbing/ due to not
providing drip band all round roof slab/continuous
lintel.
In many Buildings we observe damp patches in walls due to
ingress of moisture in to the walls either from roof or due to improper
jointing of plumbing pipes. Because of this damp patches plastering is
peeled off and wetness in walls take place. This problem of leakages
can be arrested by conducting smoke test in plumbing pipes
before they are concealed in walls. But none of us conduct this
test which causes dampness in walls and peeling of plastering.
(PHOTO OF TOILET WALL OUTSIDE OF 4 YEARS AGE)

DAMP PATCHES IN OUT SIDE FACE OF TOILET WALL DUE TO

LEAKAGES FROM PLUMBING PIPES(4 YEARS AGE)

In some cases the field Engineers forget to provide drip band all
round the roof slab/lintel and water droplets come up to the Brick
Masonry wall during rainy season and causes dampness in walls. It is
my personal opinion that it is preferable to provide projection in
Roof slab to a width of 0.90m, to avoid rain showers up to the wall
even it costs a little bit in thousands but it helps to prevent the
damage to the structure in a big way.

So far we discussed about the mistakes/omissions generally

committed by us in construction of Buildings and I feel it is our Social
responsibility to repair/ Rehabilitate such Buildings which have shown
signs of failure at early age for the mistakes committed by us. The
Repair/ Rehabilitation of such structures are costly and require
specialized materials and technical expertise to improve the life of
such structures instead of totally dismantling the structure and
reconstruct the same with huge public exchequer.

This does not mean that the structures constructed by

Government Departments only are showing signs of failure at
an early age of 10 to 15 years.

Some of the Major structures constructed by renowned

consultants are also showing a little bit more or less
performance in the same manner.
 In one case, a folded plate type Roof slab for a Government
spinning mill under construction located nearer to sea coast
designed by a well established consultant, failed on removal of
centering itself which remain un noticed by Public or
Bureaucrats and the total Roof slab was repaired with huge
Public exchequer.

If the same failure takes place in any Public works

Department, it would have become a big issue and everybody
should have pointed out and made a big issue by media. Finally
the Bureaucrats would have suspended some field engineers,
for conducting enquiry that are in no way connected to the
mistake in Design. It may take years and lot of mental agony
until the enquiry is completed. Sometimes it may spoil our
financial stability.

But as we are readily available to Bureaucrats and General Public,

the criticism is more and has to face the wrath and bend our heads
before some non technical persons as the end product is not to the
requirement of Public. Yes, we must accept their criticism as we are
paid with Public money and there is some lapse/lethargy on our side.

No Problem, we are the only Engineers encountered with the

unknown nature and unknown properties of natural foundation
soils which varies alarmingly from one site to other site and in
some cases from one point to other point in the same site of
large project. In case of other Engineering branches like Mechanical
Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and communication
Engineering where we have definite, precise and perfect properties of
Materials and unless the input materials are to the required
specification, those Engineers will not make a single move and finally
the end product is to requirement, with very little failures. But we the
CIVIL Engineers have to adopt locally available natural
materials and finally all our structures should rest on natural
soil whose properties can not be assessed precisely to 100%
perfection and we must make some assumptions in CIVIL
ENGINEERING and must proceed to construct structures for all
the above Engineers of other branches to give shelter and to
perform their job. In that way we must be proud we are the
Engineers who are giving shelter and working Environment for
other Branch Engineers, the so called perfectionists. Even if we
are given Perfect products unconnected to Nature and with definite
and precise properties for materials we can also give 100% perfect
products.

Now let us discuss how the life of Building structures are

improved when they have shown some premature signs of damage at
very early age.

(1) REPAIRS TO EXPOSED REINFORCEMENT IN

ROOF SLAB, ROOF BEAMS, COLUMNS
It is a general problem of Exposure of Reinforcement in Roof
slab, Roof Beams in almost all Government Building structures located
near Sea Coast and within 25 KM Distance from sea. The corrosion of
Reinforcement is due to presence of Marine atmosphere and the
corrosion takes place very easily in such atmosphere. This problem
can be prevented by providing Fusion bonded Epoxy coating to
Reinforcement before casting concrete of Roof slab and Roof Beams,
even though it is a bit costlier. This extra cost is very nominal when
compared to failure of structure at an early age. The Building SSR
specifies a rate of RS /MT. This comes as preventive
measure as we all know that Prevention is always better than cure.

It is very interesting to observe that the Railway authorities

while constructing Road Over Bridges near Sea coast adopt this
method along with concrete surfaces coated with Epoxy Resins,
but we don’t even attempt to copy their procedure when our
counterpart Engineering wing is adopting it. We must note this while
we construct structures in Marine Atmosphere. We wake up after the
structure has shown signs of damage after few years. Even at this
stage we do not take it seriously and we simply plaster it with
Cement Mortar if noticed or left unattended for some more
years as problem is increased to alarming condition of
exposing all the Reinforcement and by that time we do not have
adequate funds, as Repairs are costly. Here also we forget the basic
principle that a stitch in time saves nine. I am also not an
exception to that. As I also committed the same mistakes and faced
the mental agony in repair of Concrete, I am giving this repair
method to prevent restlessness, and nightmarish experience to
my colleagues and I am not a perfect CIVIL ENGINEER, to
teach others.
 TO REPAIR SUCH DAMAGED STRUCTURES, WE MUST ADOPT
THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE

(1) First remove all the loose concrete either spalled or

cracked with Hammer as much as possible.

(2) Remove the scale formed over Reinforcement totally and

clean the Reinforcement with hard metal wire brushes.

(3) Remove or blow away the dust formed during the above
procedure and keep it dry. In remote villages the Power Sprayers
are generally available with farmers (as they use the power sprayers
for spraying Pesticides to crop protection).

(4) Now we have to start our repair/ Rehabilitation process with

Epoxy compounds. Epoxy is a construction chemical which can be
used for coating of Reinforcement, bonding old concrete to new
concrete/plastering.

(5) The Epoxy comes in two components viz. Resin and

Hardener. One of the Epoxy Resins known to me are LAPOX BRAND
EPOXY Manufactured by CEIBA-GEIGY Company and the performance
of this product is up to the mark as I myself have used this product
and some other brands used did not perform well. This does not
mean I am projecting this product as a sales manager with
vested interest. I can honestly say that I used this product
only and my knowledge is very limited in construction
chemicals and I am not exposed to other type of products.
Anyone can adopt other known products also and use them and check
their performance and recommend it to our fellow Engineers. While
using these products please follow the instructions stipulated by the
manufacturer scrupulously.

(6) First take 2 parts of Epoxy and 1 part of Hardener by

weight and mix it thoroughly for few minutes, around ten minutes. If
we continue mixing for some more time, it becomes hard like a
stone once if the Reaction is started. This is one important point
to be kept in mind. In general when the colour of mixture turns to
yellow, it can be construed that it is the time to apply it
without further delay.

(7) After mixing is completed the Epoxy product is to be

applied immediately as the pot life of combined mixture is less
than half an hour. Hence we have to take little quantities like 200gm
of Epoxy and 100 gm of Hardener each time and perform our job
instead of mixing large quantities and waste it.

(8) The combined product is applied with Paint Brush on

the surface of cleaned Reinforcement and adjoining concrete.
This completes the first step.

(9) Now mix second batch of Epoxy compound in the above

manner. Before we prepare this second batch, keep ready rich
Cement Mortar (1:2) Mix for applying the same.

(10) Now apply the second coat over the already Epoxy
treated surface and leave it for 5 minutes and apply cement
slurry. Immediately after the Cement Slurry is painted start doing
Plastering to the Roof slab and Roof Beams as usual and leave it.
Please note that the combined Product of Epoxy and Hardener is
soluble in Water until it is hardened and once it is hardened on
reaction it is stronger than M40 Concrete and cannot be broken. As
such the brushes and other items used in mixing are to be
cleaned frequently with water, kept in a bucket nearby, and
made dry with cloth etc otherwise they become very hard and
not useful for second coat application.

This completes the process and this one costs approximately

Rs 1000/sqm, which is undoubtedly very costly and we are left with
no other alternative and we must pay for our earlier mentioned
omissions/ Mistakes.

(2) REPAIR TO LEAKY ROOF SLAB

It is common practice to lay Impervious Coat over the Roof
slab 20mm thick with cement Mortar (1:2) to drain off water
easily and to avoid leakages with adequate slope leading the water
to Rain water pipes placed. But in practice it is a common mistake that
we ignore the fact slope should be provided in centering itself
before placing Reinforcement. Generally it is left to the centering
labour and we visit the site after the steel is wrought and kept in
position and check their spacing and other aspects as per the
approved designs. At this stage even if we notice that the slope is not
adequate, it is difficult to rectify the centering and the contractor
convince us that he will obtain required slope in Impervious coat even
though it is loss to him.
 In order to achieve the progress of work, we too accept
the contractor’s request and accord permission to lay the
concrete. After casting the concrete the contractor commences
Impervious coat on the next day and at this stage the mason lays
cement mortar level blocks with some slope and notices that
the 20mm thickness in Impervious coat is not adequate and
extra thickness is required to have adequate slope to drain off
water. As a common practice the contractor works out the
Requirement of Cement for Impervious coat with cement
mortar (1:2) for 20mm thickness only and try to increase the sand
content thereby reducing the proportion of Cement mortar to (1:4)
or even lean which cannot prevent leakages and at times this
absorbs water due to lean cement mortar mix as it is more pervious to
Rain water and water is trapped between this Impervious coat
and Roof slab.

In one Major Building NEARER TO SEA COAST it is noticed

during the Q.C inspection along with Superintending Engineer (R&B)
Q.C, that the thickness of Impervious coat is 75 mm which
means that the centering sheets were not placed to required
slope and the contractor preferred to bring the required slope
in Impervious coat only, but without increasing the Cement
content, thus making very lean Impervious coat. This Impervious coat
as it is lean was coming out with a screw driver and we can say this
type of Impervious coat does more harm instead of PREVENTING
percolation of rain water in to roof slab and it increases dead
load of slab, absorbs and retain water in it. Because of this
entrapped water, water droplets continue for some more days
even after rain is stopped as the entrapped water has no way
to come out except through the voids in Roof slab. This
increases corrosion in Reinforcement and increases the volume of
Reinforcement and pushes down the ceiling plastering and thin cracks
may develop in Roof slab.

From the above we can understand how a small mistake of not

verifying the slope of centering sheets, before Reinforcement
is kept in position, creates deadly problem of corrosion and
Exposure of Reinforcement. This could have been checked with a
simple twine and levels given properly which takes 2 to 3 hours
for us. Even though it seems simple it is one of the reasons for
leakages in Roof slabs and show signs of failure at early age which is
not due to less use of cement in Roof slab but due to Poor
Workmanship.

In such case when there is leakage in Roof slab, INSPECT

thoroughly the top of Impervious coat and if it is leaner than
(1:2) proportion and large number of hair line cracks are
observed, remove the entire Impervious coat and clean the
surface thoroughly that there is no dust. Again inspect the roof slab
meticulously whether there is any defined crack at the top of
roof slab. If there is a visual crack continuously we have to
arrest leakage from this crack. For this we can adopt same
Epoxy compound explained in the above point. As this type of
cracks are very thin the Epoxy compound does not flow into
crack unless it is widened.

In order to allow the Epoxy compound in to the crack, a sharp

chisel may be used to slightly widen the crack to 3mm width at
top and remove all the dust, dry the surface.

(1) Remove all dust with Pressure pump/Power sprayer and

keep the surface dry.

(2) Now take 200 gm of Epoxy Resin and 100 gm of

Hardener and mix it thoroughly in the same way as explained earlier.

(3) Now pour the Epoxy mixture with a funnel in to the

crack and allow it to flow deep in to the crack until the crack is filled
totally with Epoxy mix. When the crack is totally filled it starts
coming to sides of crack and we can stop the process.

(4) Leave it for one day and verify the next day whether the
crack is totally filled and there are no visible gaps.

(5) Apply cement slurry over the roof slab to the extent that
the impervious coat can be laid in 30 minutes.

(5) Now start laying impervious coat with Cement mortar

(1:2) and complete in one single operation.

(6) Curing shall be started within 6 to 8 hours after laying

impervious coat and continue it for not less than 28 days
irrespective of grade of cement used by ponding.

(7) It is also to be kept in mind by the user departments to

inspect the roof slab before onset of monsoon and remove all
the debris, dry leaves fallen over the roof as this debris will
block the rain water pipes and cause stagnation of water over
roof. In some cases the dikes (cement mortar bunds) laid for curing
were not removed and water was stagnated over the roof even after 1
year and the User Department should also take care to maintain
the structure by doing proper maintenance.

(8) Must provide one IRON LADDER to inspect the roof by

the user Department as and when leakages are observed or for
any periodical inspection by the maintenance department, and
they must be explained of this problem and not to blame the
construction Department without maintaining the structure and
attend repairs immediately to avoid further damage.

This completes the repair to leaky roof.

(3) MINOR CRACKS IN LOAD BEARING/PARTITION WALLS

Generally in many Building structures it is a common phenomenon

that some minor hair line cracks are noticed starting from Lintel
level downwards/upwards. It is not clearly established as to why
these cracks appear. Some design Engineers opine that these are due
to slight deflection of beams on loading. It is advised that the
partition walls in case of Framed structures may be constructed after a
month after removal of centering for Roof Beams/ Roof Slab so that
the Beams take little deflection. These small hair line cracks do not
have any impact on soundness of structure, but a small
discontent in the Owners of the structure that their own house is
showing cracks within a short period. This problem is seen both in the
Government Buildings and in the Private Buildings and need not be
considered as a sign of damage. In case of Private owners, they try to
hide these cracks with frequent painting. But in case of Government
Buildings as nobody bothers about them, they are left open and offer
criticism by everyone.

It is my personal opinion that these small cracks need not be

bothered. However if anyone wants a solution for this, it is advisable
to use WALL PUTTY for sealing of these cracks and then apply
paint as usual. It may recur after few years.
 (4) Settlement of Flooring
This problem is generally observed in Building structures
constructed in Expansive soils like Black Cotton soils where pile
foundation is generally adopted. As per IS code air gap shall be
provided between the Plinth Beam and Natural Ground to allow
for expansion of clayey soils. This small air gap generally of 75mm
has to be protected with a small projection under the beam outer side.
This is not generally adhered by the field engineers during
construction and allows filling material to be eroded due to seasonal
variation in Black cotton soils. In order to avoid this plinth
Protection all round the Building in the form of small wall at a
distance of 0.60m from the main wall. The foundation of this small
wall shall be taken below the Ground level by 0.30m and raised up to
plinth level so that there will not be any loss of material and all the
filling material shall be intact. The space between the main wall and
protective shall be filled preferably with non cohesive soils like sand/
Gravel and at top Kadapa slab flooring laid with slight slope outwards,
so that the rain water drain off easily.

In some cases some Contractors use the excavated expansive soil

as fill material under flooring to some height and then use Sand for
filling. Because of the Expansive nature of Black Cotton soils, the
flooring will be settled during dry season and heave up in rainy season
due to ingress of moisture. Hence avoid filling under flooring with
expansive soils. This problem recurs if proper care is not taken while
doing filling. In case of colleges/schools which are located in a
far away isolated low lying sites from village, there is every
possibility of Inundation of site all round the building and it is
very easy for ingress of Moisture in low lying sites. It is always
desirable to provide plinth protection to prevent ingress of
moisture and this ingress of moisture from ground level may
cause dampness in walls due to capillary action of expansive
clays. This is also another problem which gives very shabby
appearance due to peeling of Painting and Plastering. It also damage
the health of the residents.

In some cases when the sand is of poor quality with salts also
may create this problem. It is desirable river sand /sand obtained
away from sea shall be used in Plastering work. It does not mean that
the sand nearer to Sea can be used for other items of work. Please
remember that the Sand used either for concrete/ plastering/
Masonry shall be free from any type of salts.
 In some cases the user department shall not take up any
maintenance as they feel that it is botheration of Engineering wing
and small plants likely to grow in the tiny gaps of joints and the
user Department shall take no responsibility to remove them in the
beginning stage itself, until they become trees with their roots gone
deep in to the walls. We are also not exception to it, as we also allow
plantation to grow at the Expansion joints of Bridge structures. We
see and leave it as a Roof garden over pier caps. Please excuse
me if my words are harsh. I think it is high time to analyze
ourselves to learn from mistakes instead of blaming one another that
it is the responsibility of the Assistant Executive Engineer and they are
not discharging their duty properly. We have to question ourselves
that how much amount is separately kept for Repairs/
Rehabilitation.

PLANTS BECAME TREES AS THEY ARE NOT REMOVED IN EARLY STAGE

BY USER DEPARTMENT

Even the Bridges which are vital in transporting men and material
during disasters are not looked in to and their maintenance is left to
air until they are collapsed. We don’t have money even to paint them
frequently until a Chief Minister visits. It is my personal opinion that
many Bridges nearer to sea coast are damaged badly due to no
maintenance exposing all the Reinforcement at Bottom due to
inadequate cover and marine atmosphere, and left unattended for
decades. In case of one bridge the total steel is separated from
concrete due to corrosion and the plain concrete is only taking heavy
Granite blocks weighing more than 50mt and nobody knows when will
it collapse.

Finally we can say that the above simple omissions are

responsible for early failure of Government Buildings which involves
no extra financial commitment and if they are taken care during
construction, many problems in Building structures can be eliminated.
If regular maintenance of Buildings is attended by user Departments
i.e., removal of debris in rain water pipes before monsoon, attending
minor repairs immediately, as it is a well known fact that a stitch in
time saves nine, the structures constructed by Departmental Engineers
last long and we can raise our head with pride.

WISHING YOU ALL THE BEST.

THANKING YOU RESPECTED ENGINEERS.

 DETAILS OF AUTHOR

NAME : PAMARTHI SURESH BABU

QUALIFICATION : B.Tech (CIVIL) FROM NAGRJUNA UNIVERSITY

DESIGNATION : DEPUTY EXECUTIVE ENGINEER

(GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH)

ROADS AND BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT

UDAYGIRI, NELLORE DISTRICT.

EXPERIENCE : WORKING IN THE DEPARTMENT SINCE 1986.

CONSTRUCTED MAJOR BRIDGES.

PURPOSE : TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE IN

CONSTRUCTION OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

ADDRESS : FLAT NO.204, SKY LINE TOWERS, 4TH LINE,

HARANADHPURAM, NELLORE-524003

ANDHRA PRADESH STATE.

CELL :9440818349 RES (0861)2318349

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