Mumbai tragedy: Error-prone Simplex Infra scripts emergencies,sits pretty

The company has been involved in a number of incidents that have put life at risk and caused damage to property on a regular basis without really having been brought to account- cases against the company are 8216;pending8217; for various reasons,which means it has not been brought to book as yet. In short,the 8216;business as usual8217; attitude has ensured the company did not effect changes that would have ensured that risk is capped and the project is built in a professional manner.

The girder collapse in Mumbai on Eastern Freeway at Shanti Nagar in Wadala on Thursday night led to the loss of the life of a construction labourer,while at least eight others were seriously injured.

As is clear from the events of that night,the company had not prepared even a basic plan to deal with emergencies. This despite repeatedly being involved in accidents. According to eye witnesses,There were many people trapped underneath the debris but there were no ambulances and police reached the spot nearly half an hour later. In fact bystanders had to pull out the injured from under the collapsed structure one by one and then arrange to transport them to hospitals by hailing taxis,leading to loss of time in providing medical aid to them.

The unprofessional attitude is also clear from the fact that 8216;taxis and trucks are parked under the construction site every night,without the company8217;s personnel doing anything about it.

In an earlier incident in October,a girder had collapsed on the Eastern Freeway construction site near Mysore colony when an 80mm bolt on a crane came off due to which a girder collapsed. However,no one was injured in the incident.

It is clear from the data that the company is a habitual offender. In fact,this is the sixth accident involving Simplex. The only action taken is that the company has been asked to forward its version of the incident 8211; it is is currently in the process of replying to a show cause notice by the MMRDA where it needs to explain why it should not be disqualified from bidding for a certain period of time.

We list here the other accidents involving Simplex Infrastructures:

May 2008- A 60-tonne piling rig at the construction site of the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro,the civil work of which has been subcontracted to Simplex Infrastructures,toppled killing one and leaving another injured.

July 2009- A metal scaffolding collapsed at the Metro construction site injuring,two workers.

November 2010- A cantilever of the then under-construction Lalbaug flyover collapsed,injuring one biker

October 2011- A girder collapsed on the Eastern Freeway. There were no injuries.

April 2012- A portion of the non-structural component of the Lalbaug flyover collapsed. There were no injuries.

April 2012- A crane on the Metro construction site near Sarvodaya Hospital tilted and fell on a nearby compound wall. There were no injuries.

About the Eastern Freeway project

The Eastern Freeway project is divided into three parts a 9.3-km corridor from P DMello Road to the beginning of Anik-Panjarpol Link Road expected to cost Rs 531 crore ,a five-km corridor from Anik to the beginning of Panjarpol-Ghatkopar Link Road Rs 148 crore and the 2.5-km Panjarpol-Ghatkopar corridor Rs 168 crore. The 16.8-km freeway,which is to be completed this December,is expected to cost Rs 847 crore in all.

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