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 total ly 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 l ike Buildings and Bridges. It is my

personal opinion that the premature signs of fai lure 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 unqualif ied 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 dismantl ing 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 wil l 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 l ike Udayagiri etc are also showing corrosion in reinforcement of

Roof slab because of this lapse. From this we can conclude that a

small negl igence is making al l 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 vi l lages good quality water wil l 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 suitabil ity 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 qual ity 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 li fe of structure and in turn wasting the public

money and getting bad reputation.

In some cases many Engineers feel that good qual ity 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 off icers prefer to use

more water for easy workabil i ty and easy f inishing. 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 f lows and finishing can be done with a hand trowel by mason. Al l 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 rd 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/l intel 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 l i ttle 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

responsibil i ty to repair/ Rehabil i tate such Buildings which have shown

signs of failure at early age for the mistakes committed by us. The

Repair/ Rehabil i tation of such structures are costly and require

specialized materials and technical expertise to improve the life of

such structures instead of totally dismantl ing 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 readi ly 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 Publ ic 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 l ike 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

specif ication, those Engineers wil l not make a single move and finally

the end product is to requirement, with very l ittle 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 Bui lding 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 easi ly 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 costl ier. This extra cost is very nominal when

compared to fai lure of structure at an early age. The Building SSR

specif ies 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 vi l lages 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/ Rehabil itation 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 fel low 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 li ttle quantities l ike 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 i t 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 earl ier 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 . General ly 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 wil l 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 ceil ing 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 fi l led

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 li tt le 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 general ly adhered by the field engineers during

construction and allows fi l l ing 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 wil l not be any loss of material and all the

fi l l ing material shall be intact. The space between the main wall and

protective shall be fi l led preferably with non cohesive soils l ike 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 soi l

as fi l l material under flooring to some height and then use Sand for

fi l l ing. Because of the Expansive nature of Black Cotton soi ls, the

flooring wil l be settled during dry season and heave up in rainy season

due to ingress of moisture. Hence avoid fi l l ing under flooring with

expansive soi ls. This problem recurs if proper care is not taken while

doing fi l l ing. 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 shal l 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 responsibil i ty 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 al low

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 responsibil ity 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

E-MAIL : sbpamarthi@gmail.com

: deerbudayagiri@gmail.com