DMRC says human error led to mishap

NEW DELHI: Two weeks after a Delhi Metro bridge, along with a launcher being used to construct it, crashed down at Vikas Marg, an iron
reinforcement bar bent and fell during installation on two girls walking close to the Metro construction site near Lajpat Nagar-IV. According to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), a human error caused this incident and appropriate action will be initiated against the erring contractor.

While DMRC claims to be taking all necessary steps to ensure quality standards, this incident, fifth at a Metro construction site, questions the safety measures around these areas.

What the DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal called a `minor incident', cost three-year-old Khushboo 17 stitches on her head. Till Sunday evening, only an executive engineer visited the injured who is yet to be compensated by DMRC.

Gammon India, the contractor in charge of the site, is responsible for construction activity from Lajpat Nagar to Okhla on the Central Secretariat-Badarpur Metro corridor.

With the scope of construction doubling in Phase II, the corporation has more contractors working on construction sites located in the Capital. There are concerns whether the attempt to go too fast has come at the cost of safety. Experts point out that as primary company which assigns the work to the contractors, DMRC cannot escape responsibility by passing the buck. "DMRC has to own up to its lapses. Only then can the process to remedy them start,'' said a senior engineer.

According to DMRC, the reinforcement bars are fixed with concrete at the base and are held up by rings temporarily. They form the cage around which construction takes place. On Saturday, one of the bars slipped out of a ring as a worker was trying to attach it and fell on the barricades, bringing them down, and hurting the girls.

Said Dayal: "This is a minor incident. An engineer was present at the site all night. Metro's construction activity in Phase-II is spread across a 125 km stretch. We have adhered to all safety norms possible.''

Dayal claimed they had asked for more land from Rajkumari Amrit Kaur Nursing College and if they got it, the incident could have been avoided by increasing the barricaded area.

With DMRC staff alleging being beaten up by residents after the incident, Dayal claimed this was very demoralising for DMRC workers.

While Metro assured taking all steps to avoid such accidents further, many Delhiites claim they fear passing through a Metro construction area. Said Siddhi Kapoor, a Lajpat Nagar resident : "You never know what might fall on you, especially with construction work taking place inside colony areas.'' Meanwhile, work is yet to begin on all the 24 launchers after the incident last Sunday. DMRC said the inquiry report into the incident would come out by Tuesday.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com