A specialized team from the Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram, is set to undertake a thorough examination of the KSRTC bus stand terminal in Kozhikode. Their mission is to investigate persistent claims of structural deficiencies within the building. Experts from the college’s Industrial Training, Consultancy & Sponsored Research (ITC&SR) cell are scheduled to commence this crucial study on October 3 and 4.
This new assessment comes as a direct result of a Kerala High Court order. The directive was issued in response to a petition filed by Alif Builders, the firm that leased the terminal building in 2021. Seeking clarity and an independent evaluation, Alif Builders had requested the High Court to mandate a study by either the Public Works Department’s Building Section or a reputable engineering college to ascertain the structural integrity of the complex.
The KSRTC bus terminal, a twin-tower complex, was developed by the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC) at an estimated cost of ₹75 crore and officially inaugurated in June 2015. However, the facility remained largely dormant until 2021 due to KTDFC’s inability to secure a suitable management agency. Compounding these issues, a 2023 report from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras had already flagged significant structural weaknesses, particularly concerning the building’s pillars and beams. The IIT report indicated that approximately 90% of the pillars and 80% of the slabs required reinforcement, proposing a strengthening project costing ₹32.7 crore, which involved reinforcing pillars and injecting cracks with cement and admixtures.
The IIT’s findings suggested that weaknesses along the sides of the pillars might have compromised their overall strength. Furthermore, the expert team reportedly recommended that the government penalize the architect responsible for the design of the bus terminal-cum-shopping complex. Despite these serious revelations, no remedial work was initiated, nor were any punitive actions taken against the architect.
When Alif Builders subsequently took over the building on lease, they withheld rent payments to KTDFC, citing the structural flaws highlighted by the IIT Madras report. This led to a legal dispute, prompting the government to pursue the matter in court. In response, Alif Builders appealed to the High Court, leading to the current order for a fresh, independent study, effectively superseding the findings of the previous IIT Madras report.