By Anil Netto,
The demolition of the ‘Leaning Arch of Penang’ at the Botanic Garden went horribly wrong when the huge structure inadvertently toppled over, crashing through a metal hoarding.
At precisely 8.45pm, a hydraulic breaker mounted on a crane began slamming against the upper portion of the leaning arch. The jackhammer-like machine tore bits of concrete from the arch and eventually punched a gaping hole just above the centre of the arch. The arch didn’t stand a chance nor did it put up much resistance.
Suddenly, just before 9.00pm, a horrified cry went up among the contractors’ workers as they yelled to warn any passers-by outside the perimeter hoarding that the arch was toppling backwards away from the crane. It fell 90 degrees (actually, less than 90 degrees, as the arch was already leaning!), almost in slow motion – as if it was frozen or suspended in mid-air… before crashing heavily down to earth. As the heaving structure slammed to the ground, it tore into the 9-foot high blue metal hoarding, crumpling it like a sheet of paper.
Did it fall on anyone or anything? Thankfully not. No one was passing by along the road parallel to the hoarding at that time; otherwise, they would have been squashed to a pulp. The journalists and press photographers who had come to record the event for posterity were smart enough to camp along the perimeter on either side of the arch, and not facing it. Onlookers quickly gathered around to survey the ‘carcass’ of the fallen monster. By then, police had appeared, preventing onlookers from getting too close. A bit like latching the barn doors after the horses have bolted!
The demolition work was carried out, probably by new contractors. Someone spotted a familiar Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) official.
An engineer (not involved in the demolition) among the crowd of onlookers shook his head in disbelief. “That was a narrow escape,” he told me. “I don’t think the contractor was expecting that. They probably thought they could bring down the arch by punching it from top to bottom so that it would crumble down. They probably never thought it would topple over from the force of the hydraulic breaker.”
He pointed to the ‘footing’ of the fallen arch. The footing is the stump at the base of both the pillars of the arch. “Look how small the block is and how shallow the depth is,” he said. “It’s probably just around three feet deep or so.”
No wonder the arch was leaning.
Looking on among the press photographers was Tengku Idaura, the new chief controller of the Garden, who must be hoping that the end of this episode will mark a turning point in the Garden. But there is a huge mess to clear and a lot of ‘upgrading work’ to reverse. Already, there is now a tussle between the authorities (Motour), who want to salvage the ‘upgrading work’ already done, and local experts more familiar with the garden, who want to restore it in line with best international practices.
What this saga also tells us is that putting up ill-conceived concrete structures is NOT development, especially if it disrupts our harmony with Nature.
You need look no further than the Municipal Park (formerly the Youth Park) nearby to see how that park has been so built up and damaged by car-parks, a skating rink, a large hawker complex, two children’s playgrounds next to each other, a reflexology pathway – all next to each other. Concrete, tarmac, and paving all over one section of the precious and limited green space. Around one of the two small playgrounds, I counted at least eight signboards!
The demolition of the ‘Leaning Arch of Penang’ at the Botanic Garden went horribly wrong when the huge structure inadvertently toppled over, crashing through a metal hoarding.
At precisely 8.45pm, a hydraulic breaker mounted on a crane began slamming against the upper portion of the leaning arch. The jackhammer-like machine tore bits of concrete from the arch and eventually punched a gaping hole just above the centre of the arch. The arch didn’t stand a chance nor did it put up much resistance.
Suddenly, just before 9.00pm, a horrified cry went up among the contractors’ workers as they yelled to warn any passers-by outside the perimeter hoarding that the arch was toppling backwards away from the crane. It fell 90 degrees (actually, less than 90 degrees, as the arch was already leaning!), almost in slow motion – as if it was frozen or suspended in mid-air… before crashing heavily down to earth. As the heaving structure slammed to the ground, it tore into the 9-foot high blue metal hoarding, crumpling it like a sheet of paper.
Did it fall on anyone or anything? Thankfully not. No one was passing by along the road parallel to the hoarding at that time; otherwise, they would have been squashed to a pulp. The journalists and press photographers who had come to record the event for posterity were smart enough to camp along the perimeter on either side of the arch, and not facing it. Onlookers quickly gathered around to survey the ‘carcass’ of the fallen monster. By then, police had appeared, preventing onlookers from getting too close. A bit like latching the barn doors after the horses have bolted!
The demolition work was carried out, probably by new contractors. Someone spotted a familiar Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) official.
An engineer (not involved in the demolition) among the crowd of onlookers shook his head in disbelief. “That was a narrow escape,” he told me. “I don’t think the contractor was expecting that. They probably thought they could bring down the arch by punching it from top to bottom so that it would crumble down. They probably never thought it would topple over from the force of the hydraulic breaker.”
He pointed to the ‘footing’ of the fallen arch. The footing is the stump at the base of both the pillars of the arch. “Look how small the block is and how shallow the depth is,” he said. “It’s probably just around three feet deep or so.”
No wonder the arch was leaning.
Looking on among the press photographers was Tengku Idaura, the new chief controller of the Garden, who must be hoping that the end of this episode will mark a turning point in the Garden. But there is a huge mess to clear and a lot of ‘upgrading work’ to reverse. Already, there is now a tussle between the authorities (Motour), who want to salvage the ‘upgrading work’ already done, and local experts more familiar with the garden, who want to restore it in line with best international practices.
What this saga also tells us is that putting up ill-conceived concrete structures is NOT development, especially if it disrupts our harmony with Nature.
You need look no further than the Municipal Park (formerly the Youth Park) nearby to see how that park has been so built up and damaged by car-parks, a skating rink, a large hawker complex, two children’s playgrounds next to each other, a reflexology pathway – all next to each other. Concrete, tarmac, and paving all over one section of the precious and limited green space. Around one of the two small playgrounds, I counted at least eight signboards!
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