This Article is From Jul 14, 2009

Has Delhi metro compromised on security?

Has Delhi metro compromised on security?
New Delhi:

Two accidents within a span of 24 hours, while an enquiry has been ordered the big question is the Delhi metro pushing deadlines and in the process are contractors cutting corners.

A salvage operation gone terribly wrong, four cranes were lifting a collapsed girder but instead within a few seconds three of them broke.

One crane was tossed up and got wedged in the ground, it took more than 12 hours and 3 additional cranes to bring it down, the operation lasted well into the night.

"Where the crane had to be placed, it was not placed, the 400 tonne capacity crane was to have been placed in the first position, in the second the 330 tonne crane needed to be placed but no one cooperated, everything was wrongly placed," said Jugraj Singh, Crane Operator.

"I was responsible for placing the cranes and there was no error in this," said Manish Dutt, Mechanical Project Manager, Gammon India.

On Tuesday morning one lane cleared but for the residents of the area the nightmare still continues.

No water available for days and now to get two buckets of water people here are lining up from 3 am.

Gammon, the contractor incharge is already under investigation. But the larger question with so much work happening is the DMRC managing to conduct mandatory safety audits.

The private contractors in all DMRC projects are hired through tenders. Experts say that while public-private partnership is the way forward, in this case safety regulations may have been overlooked to meet deadlines.

"Safety audit has perhaps been slackening over a period of time especially when DMRC's hands are so full and bound under time schedules, safety is compromised," said S P Singh, Senior Fellow, Indian Foundation of Transport, Research & Training.

NDTV has now learnt that the urban development ministry is waiting for DMRC's report on the accident in Delhi after which it may appoint its own committee that will look at these issues and even regulate the role of private companies.

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