Six buildings above metro tunnelling site evacuated

Surat: Six vulnerable buildings over the site of metro tunnelling work in the Chowk Bazaar area of the city were evacuated and their residents accommodated at various city hotels. Some buildings also developed cracks.Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) officials said the shifting was only a precaution and the residents will be moved back once the tunnelling is over.
In the last two days, residents of Krishna Kunj, Nijanand, Hiba Palace and Baug-E-Altaf housing societies were evacuated. As the tunnel boring machine (TBM) was working about 12m below these apartment buildings, residents felt vibrations. The metro enters a tunnel on the 6.4km Kapodra to Chowk Bazaar stretch. Down line work on this stretch was completed in Aug, while the last 100m of tunnelling towards Chowk Bazar station is underway at present."On this 100m stretch, the TBM passes under five or six buildings. Some of them are old and dilapidated. All the remaining buildings along the metro alignment are very close to the riverside and have been built on a patch where 4m to 6m of soil was filled in," a GMRC official said.He added, "As a precaution, GMRC got a survey done by experts. Experts found some of the buildings to be dilapidated, vulnerable or unsafe. GMRC thus asked residents of these buildings to vacate them. All efforts will be made to complete the work at the earliest," a GMRC official said.Locals demanded that the work be completed at the earliest, saying they have suffered for five years. "We completely support the metro project as it will reduce pollution and save people time. However, we want the barricades to be removed at the earliest as our businesses and homes have been badly affected over the past five years. We want the roads to be cleared at the earliest," Ajay Chowksi, who was shifted to a hotel, said.Due to these buildings standing on filled-in soil, GMRC is also strengthening their foundations with grouting and erecting temporary supports."With the completion of this final 100m stretch, tunnelling for both up and down lines, covering a total length of 6.4km, will be completed, marking an important project milestone," the official said.Engineers from other countries and SVNIT are also keeping a constant watch on the situation to avoid any untoward incident.