Agra Metro tunnel row: UP minister slamsnegligence, halts work pending IIT survey

Agra: A stretch of the Agra metro rail project work might have hit a roadblock after UP cabinet minister Yogendra Upadhyaya, following his inspection and meeting with some residents affected by tunnel excavation on Tuesday, vowed to "halt the work pending a comprehensive survey by a team of experts from Indian Institute of Technology" and "take necessary action to ensure public interest is not hurt".The minister, an MLA from Agra south constituency, also pulled up officials at the UP Metro Rail Corporation for their "negligence" and "causing public inconvenience". This comes after locals blamed the tunnel excavation work when cracks began to appear on over 150 houses in their residential area.Upadhyaya added that work would not proceed until the team meets local residents' expectations.During Tuesday's inspection at Moti Katra, Upadhyaya, who was accompanied by DM Aravind Mallappa Bangari, said, "Rail corporation hadn't properly obtained technical advice before commencing work, or if obtained, hadn't followed it appropriately. We've called upon technical advisers with the public works department and private entities, whose opinions would also be considered. A comprehensive survey will be conducted." He also emphasised that the metro team should prioritise clearing the area's choked sewer lines and repair damaged water supply pipelines. "I've asked the DM to ensure time-bound redressal on civic issues," he said. Agra metro rail project director, Arvind Rai, meanwhile, said, "A survey was conducted earlier. Damage was found in 50 houses then. Out of these 35 were repaired and people, who moved out, returned. Repairing of 15 other houses is ongoing. Some of the houses in the area have pre-existing cracks."Cracks have appeared in over 150 houses located in Moti Katra and Syed Gali. "The situation became a matter of concern as iron jacks were installed to prevent many houses from collapsing," a local said, adding, "Over 500 people were forced to leave their ancestral homes and live in other houses or hotels. Jacks were installed to keep 146 houses standing." Another resident claimed that these cracks started forming in July and have since worsened. Notably, an underground railway track is being built for the metro rail from Agra College to Mankameshwar Mandir station. The tunnel of the railway track is 2 km long. Tunnelling work, which began in Oct 2023, involves excavations as deep as 100 to 150 feet.
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