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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
 Posted - 07/22/2009 : 07:24:44
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NEW DELHI: The four-member inquiry committee looking into the Zamrudpur mishap is expected to submit its report to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation
(DMRC) managing director E Sreedharan on Wednesday. The report will throw light on the exact cause of the girder collapse which could be a fault in design, on-site construction or substandard material.
The committee, which was appointed on the day of the incident, had 10 days to look into the exact cause of the mishap and has Prof A K Nagpal from Indian IIT, Prof B R Bose from Delhi College of Engineering (DCE), structural expert Steven Lowry and DMRC design head Rajan Kataria as its members. Members of the committee have visited the Zamrudpur spot numerous times and talking to officials to ascertain what exactly when wrong.
Sreedharan, meanwhile, was out of station and was due to return only on Tuesday. Once the report is out, more heads are expected to roll and the contractor of the line, Gammon India, could also come under the scanner. The incident has already claimed its first casualty director (projects) Vijay Anand, who sought repatriation to Indian Railways after he was reportedly asked to go on leave after the mishap.
Though the exact cause for the girder collapse was not known, Sreedharan had told TOI in an exclusive interview that it seems to have been caused by a design deficiency on Pier-67. DMRC chief had clarified that the crack noticed on Pier-67 couldn't have caused the collapse. "It is true that we noticed the crack. We put a thin glass on it, as is the monitoring process, so if the crack expands, the glass would break. The glass is still there. So the collapse couldn't have been due to this. The failure is somewhere else. There could be a problem with the material, or reinforcement on site which caused the collapse,'' Sreedharan told TOI. The corporation had, in fact, thought of demolishing the pier but later decided against it and went on with construction of the girder.
The new plan of action was to complete the girder and test load Pier-67 with full train load, keeping margin for support. But even as just half the construction had been completed, the pier couldn't withstand the load of the half span and the launcher girder, and it collapsed.
The allegation that DMRC has been compromising quality for speed, something which had also been brought out by the recent CAG report, will also be clear after the report is public.
In the incident on July 12, six people were killed and 13 injured when an under-construction concrete girder on Delhi Metro's Badarpur line collapsed in Zamrudpur. The incident, however, will not lead to any delay in commissioning of the Badarpur line.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 19:10:42
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Thursday, Jul 23, 2009
CAG ignored our version: Sreedharan
NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan on Wednesday assailed the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report on the transport system, saying the government auditor’s job is to find fault, but it has no responsibility to deliver.
“They [CAG] have no responsibility to deliver…their job is to find fault,” Mr. Sreedharan told reporters when asked about the report, which remarked that Delhi Metro has diluted testing standards in its projects. “It has been uncharitable in its remarks. We have worked very hard, and what is important are results,” he said.
Mr. Sreedharan alleged that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s version was not taken into account while finalising the report, though it had submitted a detailed reply to the auditor’s queries. “They sent us queries and took our reply. But the report does not reflect our replies,” he said, adding that the report was about Phase-I of the Delhi Metro.
Questioning the CAG’s finding that the Metro acquired more land, he said, “Is the CAG questioning the mandate of the government? They gave us permission to commercially exploit land to raise funds. We were allotted land and if we managed to save some land, it was by sheer engineering skills.” — PTI
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 19:15:24
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New Delhi
DMRC blamed for worker’s death
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Committee of the Indian Federation of Trade Unions has blamed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for the death of a worker at a construction site in Punjabi Bagh here on Wednesday. It said the DMRC was irresponsible and did not penalise the contractors whose only concern was to make quick profits even at the cost of workers’ lives. It also blamed the Delhi Government for speeding up construction work.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 19:17:54
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Metro drops its design head from probe panel
Megha Suri, TNN 23 July 2009, 03:51am IST
NEW DELHI: A day before a four-member committee is expected to submit its report in last Sunday's Zamrudpur Metro mishap case, the DMRC announced on Wednesday that it has removed corporation's design head Rajan Kataria from the probe panel to guard against biases in the report if it suggests design fault as the reason for pier collapse.
Kataria along with Prof AK Nagpal from IIT, Prof BR Bose from DCE, structural expert Steven Lowry are part of the panel. "We felt it was not fine to have our own man in the committee. If the final report points to a design deficiency, Kataria's presence might not be appreciated. That is why he was pulled out of the panel two days ago,'' DMRC managing director E Sreedharan said.
He added that the cause for the girder collapse will not be known till the report is out. But the possible reasons for it could be either a deficiency in design, use of inferior material in construction or a fault in the reinforcement on site.
The report will be submitted by Thursday. The members of the committee sought an extension of 2-3 days from DMRC, which was not granted. "I am now expecting the report by this evening or tomorrow (Thursday). I will go through it in detail and then decide the future course of action,'' Sreedharan added.
Talking about the repatriation of DMRC Director Projects Vijay Anand, Sreedharan said that all the three accidents two at Zamrudpur and one at Laxmi Nagar last year happened under Anand's jurisdiction. He clarified that he only asked Anand to go on leave. "There is no way that he (Anand) was directly involved in any of the accidents. I felt his being away from the scene would create a better impression on the public and requested him to go on leave. But he felt he should leave DMRC on moral grounds and go back to Railways,'' said Sreedharan.
So, will he be persuaded to come back for his track record with the corporation has been very clean. "All that depends on the findings of the inquiry report,'' Sreedharan added. His position in the corporation, however, has not been filled yet. Executive Director (Civil) Kumar Keshav has been asked to fill his post, but a decision is pending on whether this is going to be a permanent arrangement.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/22/2009 : 19:19:35
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DMRC seeks body for crane certification
TNN 23 July 2009, 03:52am IST
NEW DELHI: Even as a majority of accidents at Metro construction sites have taken place due to crane malfunction, including the second mishap at Zamrudpur last Monday and Wednesday's incident, there is no national agency to certify them as is the case with lifts. Nearly 260 cranes work daily at Delhi Metro construction sites.
Calling for setting up of a crane safety organization in the wake of Wednesday's mishap, DMRC managing director E Sreedharan said DMRC gets all the cranes certified by experts on its own initiative. But, we are not bound to do that. We must have a crane safety organisation, which functions like a statutory authority.''
On Wednesday's mishap, he said: "The contractor building the station had got a new crane which had not undergone certification. The necessary precautions taken while lifting heavy loads were overlooked. It was found that a rubber sheet or sacks usually placed between the crane and the object being lifted, to prevent metal to metal contact between the girder and the crane, had not been put.''
Normally, all such lifting devices, including cranes, are tested and certified for a period of three months and are also tagged with coloured stickers. The crane which malfunctioned at Ashoka Park had also been certified, but its chains were not. The incident occurred when one of the chains holding the load snapped.
After two accidents at Zamrudpur, with one involving cranes, DMRC had been on high alert and all contractors had been asked to be on alert. But yet another accident took place this morning. DMRC's contention is that they are not experts in crane handling their expertise lies in train operations. "Crane handling is the contractor's job. Every crane has a supervisor, but we can't keep another supervisor for very crane working in the city. This is the responsibility of the contractor,'' Sreedharan added.
DMRC is now thinking of engaging the expert, who carried out the inquiry into last Monday's crane malfunction at Zamrudpur, BP Singh.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2009 : 19:45:13
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Friday, Jul 24, 2009
Metro to strengthen safety
Decision taken at emergency meeting to discuss mishaps
NEW DELHI: The DMRC will take a fresh look at all aspects of its functioning right from design to construction to operations with emphasis on strengthening the safety systems and supervision. This was decided at an emergency meeting of the Board of Directors of the metro here on Thursday.
The meeting had been called to discuss the recent mishaps at metro sites here that have left seven people dead and several injured.
To ensure there is no let-up in safety procedures at any of its construction sites, DMRC will focus on providing safety training to all its workers and enhance supervision.
“After taking stock of what happened in the past few days, it has been decided to strengthen the safety system and provide some kind of training to workers,” said an official who attended the meeting.
The emphasis, he said, would be on short-term training programme for all workers. In fact, DMRC MD E. Sreedharan on Wednesday had rued the shortage of skilled workers, technicians and good contractors.
“The training programme should be introduced at more levels, reaching out to contractors and sub-contractors,” said the official. As of now, DMRC would be responsible for imparting training to the workers, but a dialogue could be initiated with officials of technical institutes and polytechnics to take on the task, he added.
Attention will also be paid to monitoring of upcoming as well as operational sections of the metro. “There was some concerns vis-À-vis the functioning of technical teams, so it has been decided that monitoring and inspection aspects will be strengthened and if the need arises outsourced,” the official said.
The DMRC will also enhance supervision on existing and operational lines and rechecking will be carried out of the existing cantilevers.
Union Urban Development Secretary M. Ramachandran, who also attended the meeting, told The Hindu: “The DMRC makes it a target to ensure that mishaps like the ones that have happened do not occur. We are confident that such incidents will not occur.”
He said the Board would meet again next week to discuss the report of the committee set up to probe the July 12 mishap at Jamrudpur which clamed six lives. The committee, comprising Professor A.K. Nagpal of IIT Delhi, Prof. B. R. Bose of Delhi College of Engineering, and Steven Lowry, project director with General Consultants to DMRC, is yet to submit its report.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2009 : 19:54:55
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Metro mishap probe report delayed
TNN 24 July 2009, 04:02am IST
NEW DELHI: The main inquiry report of the July 12 incident at a Metro construction site in Zamrudpur has been delayed as the three-member committee finalizing it reportedly failed to submit it to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Thursday. Meanwhile, an internal board of directors meeting was held at the Delhi Metro headquarters where managing director E Sreedharan reportedly briefed the others on the mishap.
The inquiry was supposed to be submitted within 10 days from the incident that resulted in death of six people. Last week the panel sought extension of two days but Sreedharan refused to grant it.
Sources said the report was now expected to come in by Friday and that it would be submitted directly to Sreedharan. Depending on the findings, the DMRC chief would decide on action against the contractor, Gammon India, and DMRC staff. Sources said strict action was likely against the DMRC officials who were involved in the decision making process for the project.
A day after a concrete girder and a launcher working on it collapsed on the under-construction Metro line to Badarpur, DMRC formed a four-member committee to inquire into the causes of the mishap. The panel comprised of Prof AK Nagpal from Indian Institute of Technology, Prof BR Bose from Delhi College of Engineering, structural expert Steven Lowry and DMRC design head Rajan Kataria as its members. Sreedharan revealed on Wednesday that Kataria was removed from the panel as he could vitiate the results if they point to a design flaw as the reason for the collapse.
The mishap could have been caused due to a design deficiency, material fault or problem with reinforcement on site. Sreedharan had told TOI in an exclusive interview that a crack noticed on Pier-67, due to which construction work had been stalled for 2-3 months on the stretch, couldn't have caused the collapse. "It is true that we noticed the crack. We put a thin glass on it as part of monitoring process. The glass would have been broken in case of expansion in crack. The glass is still there. So the collapse couldn't have been due to this. The failure is somewhere else,'' Sreedharan told TOI.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/23/2009 : 19:59:46
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Metro mishap probe report delayed
TNN 24 July 2009, 04:02am IST
NEW DELHI: The main inquiry report of the July 12 incident at a Metro construction site in Zamrudpur has been delayed as the three-member committee finalizing it reportedly failed to submit it to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Thursday. Meanwhile, an internal board of directors meeting was held at the Delhi Metro headquarters where managing director E Sreedharan reportedly briefed the others on the mishap.
The inquiry was supposed to be submitted within 10 days from the incident that resulted in death of six people. Last week the panel sought extension of two days but Sreedharan refused to grant it.
Sources said the report was now expected to come in by Friday and that it would be submitted directly to Sreedharan. Depending on the findings, the DMRC chief would decide on action against the contractor, Gammon India, and DMRC staff. Sources said strict action was likely against the DMRC officials who were involved in the decision making process for the project.
A day after a concrete girder and a launcher working on it collapsed on the under-construction Metro line to Badarpur, DMRC formed a four-member committee to inquire into the causes of the mishap. The panel comprised of Prof AK Nagpal from Indian Institute of Technology, Prof BR Bose from Delhi College of Engineering, structural expert Steven Lowry and DMRC design head Rajan Kataria as its members. Sreedharan revealed on Wednesday that Kataria was removed from the panel as he could vitiate the results if they point to a design flaw as the reason for the collapse.
The mishap could have been caused due to a design deficiency, material fault or problem with reinforcement on site. Sreedharan had told TOI in an exclusive interview that a crack noticed on Pier-67, due to which construction work had been stalled for 2-3 months on the stretch, couldn't have caused the collapse. "It is true that we noticed the crack. We put a thin glass on it as part of monitoring process. The glass would have been broken in case of expansion in crack. The glass is still there. So the collapse couldn't have been due to this. The failure is somewhere else,'' Sreedharan told TOI.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/24/2009 : 19:45:33
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Metro mishap report submitted to Sreedharan
IANS 24 July 2009, 02:58pm IST
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NEW DELHI: A report by a four-member expert committee probing Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's (DMRC) worst accident July 12, which killed six people, has been submitted to DMRC Managing Director E. Sreedharan, an official said on Friday.
"The report was received at 7.30 p.m. yesterday (Thursday). Sreedharan has asked a group of directors of DMRC to examine the report after which he will review it himself," DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.
The committee headed by A.K. Nagpal of the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi probed the collapse of an under-construction beam meant to support the elevated rail track connecting central Delhi to Badarpur in the south of the capital.
"Based on the findings of the report action is likely to be taken by DMRC next week," Dayal added.
The report was due Wednesday, but the team, which also included two DMRC officials, had asked for an extension.
While details of the inquiry are still unclear, official sources say that the report has blamed DMRC's contractor for the under construction metro rail link, Gammon India.
Another official said that strict action is likely against DMRC officials who were involved in projects on the stretch.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/24/2009 : 19:46:49
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HC issues notice to Gammon India in Delhi Metro mishap case
PTI 24 July 2009, 01:22pm IST
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NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to Gammon India, a contractor in Delhi Metro Rail project, on a petition filed by the family
members of victims of the July 12 mishap, seeking compensation. ( Watch )
Justice Rewa Khetrapal directed the company to file its response by August 20 when the matter will be taken up for further hearing.
The Court passed the order on a joint petition filed by family members of four persons who lost their lives in the mishap.
Six persons, including an engineer, were killed and over a dozen others injured when an under-construction over-bridge of the Delhi Metro collapsed on July 12 in south Delhi.
The petitioners pleaded before the court that the family of the deceased should get a compensation of Rs 50 lakh each while injured persons should be given Rs 25 lakh each.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/24/2009 : 21:43:44
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Saturday, July 25, 2009 : 0315 Hrs Delhi Metro mishap: Panel finds fault with design, material
New Delhi (IANS): A committee probing Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's (DMRC) worst accident on July 12, which left six people dead, has held that fault in the design of the metro pillar and the construction material used was responsible for the mishap.
The panel has submitted its report to DMRC managing director E. Sreedharan and the company is likely to take action by next week, officials said.
Structural engineering expert A.K. Nagpal of the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi headed the probe team which looked into design and construction inadequacy of pillar 67.
"I think as is known, material and design deficiency were the two aspects on which we carried out the investigation," Nagpal told a news channel here.
Asked if the team was faced with any difficulty during the probe, Mr. Nagpal said: "The difficult part was time constraint. I think within a short time we had to do many investigations. We are satisfied with what we have finally given."
A team of four experts including DMRC's design cell head Rajiv Kataria probed the collapse of an under-construction beam meant to support the elevated rail track connecting central Delhi to Badarpur in the south of the capital.
Although the report was due on Wednesday, Mr. Kataria was dropped from the team and the report was finally given to the Metro chief on Thursday evening.
"The report was received at 7.30 pm yesterday (Thursday). Sreedharan has asked a group of directors of DMRC to examine the report after which he will review it himself," DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal told IANS.
"Based on the findings of the report, action is likely to be taken by DMRC next week," Mr. Dayal added.
While details of the inquiry are still unclear, official sources say that the report has blamed DMRC's contractor for the under construction metro rail link, Gammon India.
Another official said that strict action is likely against DMRC officials who were involved in projects on the stretch.
Mr. Sreedharan meanwhile also called for setting up a full time safety organisation for DMRC's operation and maintenance wing. The organisation will be in-charge of reviewing of safety procedures being followed in structural maintenance of stations, safety of track, safety of elevated beams of Delhi Metro, safety of running trains and safety of electrical and telecom equipment.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2009 : 06:12:06
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http://ptinews.com/news/193182_Delhi-Metro-engineers-only-assisting-contractor--Dayal
New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) Delhi Metro today said its engineers were only involved in assisting the contractor at the construction site where a crane mishap injured six people and maintained that the safe and proper method of lifting cranes should have been adopted by Gammon India.
The statement assumes significance in the wake of Gammon India Ltd saying that DMRC engineers were fully aware and involved in the operation and it did not receive any communication from the one-man committee set up by DMRC investigating the crane mishap.
"The entire crane operation and recovery was being done by the contractor and the DMRC engineers are not experts in crane operation. DMRC engineers, however, were involved only in assisting Gammon India Ltd. in procuring the cranes," DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal said.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2009 : 09:31:02
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Metro begins trial runs on Yamuna Bank-Noida corridor
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Metro on Saturday began the trial runs on the Yamuna Bank-Noida corridor with the train running upto New Ashok Nagar station, a month before the 13.1 km stretch is opened for public.
The trial run started at 10 am today and went till 2 pm during which the train ran at a speed of 15 kmph from Yamuna Bank to New Ashok Nagar on the upline.
"The trial run will take place upto New Ashok Nagar for the first 10 days and subsequently the entire section upto Noida City Centre will be covered. The trials will take place for approximately 10 hrs everyday," DMRC Chief Public Relations Officer Anju Dayal said.
The Yamuna Bank to Noida section is scheduled to be opened for the public by the end of August 2009 and with the opening of this, section Line–III will comprise of a total of 42 stations and its length will increase to 47.2 kms.
This will also become the longest operational section of the Delhi Metro. The journey time of the entire stretch would be around one-and-a-half hours.
"During the Day, the concentration will be on checking the performance of the Rolling Stock (train) with different systems for around 6 hours while signaling |
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/25/2009 : 19:51:17
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Metro mishaps: Delhi Police tranfers probe to Crime Branch
PTI 25 July 2009, 04:19pm IST
NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Saturday transferred to its Crime Branch investigations into the two recent mishaps at a construction site of Delhi Metro.
"We have transferred the cases to Crime Branch," a senior police official said.
Police are investigating the collapse of an under- construction bridge in Zamrudpur, killing six persons on July 12.
The accident occurred when a pillar of the bridge gave in during some construction work in South Delhi.
The next day, four cranes collapsed during debris clearance operations there.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/26/2009 : 20:07:28
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Cracks at Noida Metro line, inspection ordered
Megha Suri, TNN 27 July 2009, 04:25am IST
NEW DELHI: The horror of the Zamrudpur Metro collapse came alive again on Saturday when fresh cracks were noticed on two piers with cantilevers on the under-construction Noida line.
Trial runs on this Metro line, slated to open to the public by August-end, started only on Saturday. The piers were inspected by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation managing director E Sreedharan, who has ordered a detailed inspection of one of the cracks. The other, he observed, is superficial.
The pier which collapsed leading to the Zamrudpur tragedy also had a cantilever, which is a horizontal projection jutting out of the pillar.
Cantilever piers are used at curves on the Metro line. Both the Badarpur line, where the mishap took place, and the Noida stretch have the same contractor, Gammon India.
The matter came to light when the consultant — M/s Shirish Patel and Associates — appointed to check other Metro structures, especially cantilevers, on all the under construction Phase II lines noticed the cracks and informed DMRC of this. The consultant was appointed soon after the Zamrudpur incident.
The cracks were spotted on Piers 10 and 14 located near the Indian Oil building near Sector 14, Noida. After a thorough inspection, it was concluded that the crack on Pier 14 was superficial and not a matter of concern. But a further investigation was ordered into the one on Pier 10.
DMRC managing director E Sreedharan, who inspected the piers, said: "Both the hairline cracks seem to be superficial and related to masonry, which doesn't have a bearing on the strength of the piers. But we are not willing to take any chances now. This is why a more detailed investigation has been ordered into one of the cracks."
Sreedharan climbed the piers personally to check the cracks. The one on Pier 10 has reportedly been supported with metal struts and will be put through specialized ultrasonic testing. The trial runs on the 13.1-km long Noida line have only been started on the Yamuna Bank-New Ashok Nagar stretch for now and are expected to be extended to Noida City Centre Sector 32 after 10 days.
But with one of the cracks being examined now, this could be delayed. A DMRC spokesperson, however, said neither of the cracks appear to be serious and trial runs on the stretch would progress as per schedule. In contrast to the Zamrudpur piers, the cantilevers on the Noida line are smaller — 2 metres as compared to 4 metres.
The cracks are being taken seriously as the concrete girder which collapsed in Zamrudpur was resting on a pier on which cracks were noticed before the mishap.
Even as Sreedharan later clarified that the collapse was not caused by the crack on Pier 67, the reason for the mishap is still not known. The report of a four-member committee investigating the incident has been submitted to DMRC, but has not been made public yet.
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Delhi metro- Latest news
