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Journalism of Courage
Two days after a steel girder collapsed at an under-construction Metro station in Ghaziabad, injuring five people, a preliminary inquiry by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) stated that the incident happened “due to laxity and negligence in work being done by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)”. “If the joint of the girder had been tightened properly, this incident would not have taken place,” the report said.
The report, sent to the UP Principal Secretary for Housing and Urban Planning by the Ghaziabad District Magistrate and GDA Vice-Chairperson Ritu Maheshwari, states, “It is clear that heavy girders had not been tightened and due to heavy load and few nuts and bolts, there was too much pressure, while resulted in the girder’s collapse… The girder was placed on top of a main road which has constant traffic. Without any information or security arrangements, this was done by Metro officials/workers due to which the incident took place. Certainly, the chief engineer, deputy chief engineer, assistant engineer, lower engineer did not carry out their duties completely and grave negligence was witnessed, due to which the public had to face this serious mishap.”
Around 10 am on Monday, the accident at Mohan Nagar Metro Station, which is still under construction, led to three passengers and the driver of an autorickshaw being severely injured, along with a 26-year-old man who was on a motorcycle. The DMRC has removed the project in-charge of the Mohan Nagar Metro station, terminated services of the sub-contractor, and suspended the assistant and junior engineers of the project. The Ghaziabad administration has constituted a two-member panel to lead an investigation into the incident.
A DMRC spokesperson, however, said, “The GDA statement is factually incorrect and not based on any technical examination of the incident. DMRC is conducting an inquiry. Once it is complete, the exact cause shall be known and suitable action taken.”
Ghaziabad DM said the Metro rail expansion work from Dilshad Garden in Delhi to New Bus Stand in Ghaziabad is being undertaken by DMRC. “Since the beginning, work on the project has taken place at a slow pace and letters to the DMRC have been written several times on the security arrangement, covering construction material with a green cover, regular spraying of water and repair of damaged road and pavements at the site,” Maheshwari told the Principal Secretary in her letter.
“An initial inquiry by GDA revealed that the girder was kept in two sections without proper nuts and bolts due to which it suddenly split and fell, leading to the incident… Clearly there was negligence on the part of DMRC on this work and the set standards were not technically followed due to which this incident happened,” she wrote.
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