KOLKATA: Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) has brought in a team from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to inspect the Bowbazar cave-in zone and guide them on the way forward.
The team, led by DMRC director (works) Daljeet Singh, on Monday and Tuesday visited Durga Pituri Lane, where several buildings collapsed and nearly 800 residents were displaced in a tunnelling disaster on August 31, 2019. Two more cave-ins took place in May and again, last month.
The DMRC team also visited Madan Dutta Lane and the Sealdah Metro station, where trains are now running through the eastbound tunnel as the westbound one is still unfinished. Singh and team inspected the westbound tunnel through the shaft inside Sealdah station.
Following the second subsidence, KMRC had had professors from IIT Roorkee visiting the Bowbazar site. At that time, excavation of soil under the Howrah-bound tunnel led to leakage of water. "This time, we have sought help from engineers who have been hands-on in Metro construction, with practical experience of facing ground-level challenges," an official said.
After three disasters in three years, KMRC wants validation from external experts for the rest of the project. Singh has been involved in the construction of the first Delhi underground Metro from Central Secretariat to Vishwavidyalaya in 1998-2004, elevated corridor from Qutub Minar to Huda City Centre and Kalkaji-Vasant Vihar underground section.
The DMRC experts will suggest ways to overcome the challenges in the unfinished 2.45km leg of the East-West tunnels. KMRC as well as ITD ITD-Cementation, which is building the twin tunnels along the 2.45km Sealdah-Esplanade section, are looking to drop the three cross passages planned in the vulnerable zone.
Start a Conversation
Post comment