6 killed, 13 injured in Metro bridge collapse in Delhi

[I-G]

Gammon India responsible for crane mishap: DMRC probe

Updated on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 21:57 IST

New Delhi: A probe panel looking into the crane mishap at a Delhi Metro site during debris clearance today held the contractor Gammon India responsible for the "unusual" incident which it said was due to "mismanagement and lack of professionalism".

"We have received the report on the snapping of cranes in Zamrudpur. It holds contractor's mismanagement and non-professional approach as the reasons for the mishap," Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan told reporters.

The DMRC has appointed B P Singh, an expert on cranes and former general manager of NALCO, to inquire into the July 13 mishap when a crane toppled over and booms of two other cranes broke during site-clearing operations at Zamrudpur.

Sreedharan said Gammon India used four cranes at the same time which was not the practice. "Two cranes should have been used instead of four. Once you use four and if one of them develops a snag, then everything goes wrong.

"The report also said that the clearance of girder from the site should have been done in two stages. There is a sheer error in judgement. Fortunately, only four cranes were lost but it is a very major incident," he said.

Delhi Metro officials said the probe report on the July 11 accident when an under-construction bridge collapsed in Zamrudpur killing six persons is likely to be submitted by tomorrow.

Delhi Metro news-Gammon India responsible for crane mishap: DMRC probe

 

[I-G]

18 cracks found in Delhi Metro pillars

18 cracks found in Delhi Metro pillars

Updated on Monday, July 27, 2009, 18:25 IST

New Delhi: Structural audits on piers under construction for Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) tracks have revealed 18 cracks on pillars. The company, however, Monday said that there was "no need for panic".

The DMRC has begun to re-check all the piers of the metro's 190 km-long phase II, after

the July 12 accident due to a crack killed six people. Independent consultant Shirish Patel and Associates were appointed to conduct the structural audits.

DMRC Managing Director E Sreedharan had asked metro engineers to inspect all the piers built on respective lines for any cracks.

"They found hairline cracks on eight piers of the Central Secretariat to Gurgaon corridor, two piers of the Noida corridor and eight piers of the Central Secretariat to Badarpur corridor. All appear to be superficial in nature," DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.

Dayal also informed that Sreedharan has asked the consultant to reassess the design of the 18 points in detail in addition to the overall checking of phase-II structures.

"DMRC will carry out further corrective action if required and take necessary remedial measures after Shirish Patel and Associates have examined these locations," Dayal added.

On July 12, an elevated stretch of the metro rail under construction in south Delhi collapsed with tonnes of concrete and steel, killing six and injuring 15 others.

Cracks noticed on pillars there were speculated by workers as the reason for the accident. However investigations so far have pointed to a design or construction material inefficiency.

While residents in Noida have expressed fear that DMRC is in a hurry to conduct trial runs on the nearly finished stretch, the company said that surface cracks in concrete structures are not uncommon and trials are likely to continue along with the investigation.

"There is no need for panic in the matter. In fact, Indian standard codes for design of reinforced concrete structures allows and permits tension cracks within limits," a DMRC statement said.

To further investigation, ultrasonic and rebound hammer testing will carried out to check the integrity and quality of the concrete. In addition,

"DMRC will get load testing done wherever considered necessary," Dayal said.

"Similar testing was done during phase I of the construction also as a precautionary measure whenever required."

18 cracks found in Delhi Metro pillars

 

[Sridhar]

Metro mishap: Gammon gets show cause notice

Updated on Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 13:32 IST ​

New Delhi: Construction giant Gammon India, contractor for the Delhi Metro’s Badarpur line where an accident left six people dead, has been issued a show-casue notice asking why it should not be blacklisted for 2 years.

Tabling the action taken report following the worst mishap in DMRC’s history, Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy told the Lok Sabha that Hyderabad-based Gammon has been slapped with a show-cause notice asking it to explain the inadequacies in the construction, which eventually led to the mishap.

Besides Gammon, M/s Tandon Consultants who are the structural consultants for the project, have been debarred for three years, while the designing firm M/s Arch Consultants have been blacklisted for 5 years.

VP Shrivatsav and Mukesh Tahkur, deputy chief engineers’ in-charge of the project, have been placed under suspension. Besides them, DMRC design head Rajan Kataria would also face strict action as the design of the cantilevers were thought to be one of the main reasons behind the mishap.

Further, Vijay Anand who was in-charge of the section has been repatriated to Railways after the accident.

Moreover, another consulting firm M/s Shirish Consultants have been asked to go through all the existing cantilever designs in the Phase II. They have in fact, identified 18 cracks on different pillars raising serious questions about the structures.

Earlier, the committee probing Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) worst accident on July 12 in their report submitted to DMRC chief E Shreedharan had held a fault in the design of the metro pillar and the poor quality of construction material as the reasons for the mishap.

The inquiry was conducted by a four-member committee of Prof AK Nagpal from the Indian Institute of Technology, Prof BR Bose from Delhi College of Engineering, structural expert Steven Lowry, and Rajan Kataria, who was later removed from the panel.

On the details of the report, Sreedharan had said the cracks that have been seen on structures will be re-examined and corrective action will be taken.

However, the head of the probe committee, Prof Nagpal was quoted by a news channel as saying, “I think as is known, material and design deficiency were the two aspects on which we carried out the investigation.”

Sreedharan, meanwhile, also called for setting up a full time safety organisation for DMRC’s operation and maintenance wing. The organisation will be in-charge of reviewing of safety procedures being followed in structural maintenance of stations, safety of track, safety of elevated beams of Delhi Metro, safety of running trains, and safety of electrical and telecom equipment.

Delhi Metro mishap: Gammon blacklisted for 2 years

 

[Pintu]

Delhi Metro turns the heat on Gammon India- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

Delhi Metro turns the heat on Gammon India
29 Jul 2009, 0223 hrs IST, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Tuesday said that it would serve a show-cause notice to Gammon India, the contractor working at Zamrudpur accident site, asking why it should not be barred from undertaking the metro projects for two years. It cited deficiency in design and quality of material as the cause for the July 12 mishap, which claimed six lives.

“The design of the cantilever pier, which collapsed in Zamrudpur, was not adequately taken care of. There was a deficiency of steel at critical areas, besides a major deficiency in reinforcement detailing,” Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan said, while making the findings of the probe public. DMRC has already blacklisted Arch Consultant, design consultant of Gammon India, for five years, besides issuing a major penalty chargesheet to its chief engineer (design) Rajan Kataria.

Gammon India will, however, continue to work at all the five metro projects it is currently undertaking. “Gammon has five major contracts under phase-II. At this moment, we are not going to take away existing projects from them, as re-awarding the contracts could delay the projects by 6-8 months,” Mr Sreedharan said.

Gammon is currently working on the metro projects valued at Rs 300 crore, of which work worth Rs 230 crore has been completed. In order to ensure fool-proof work by Gammon, DMRC will insist on double-checking of quality and safety standards, said Mr Sreedharan.

The metro chief said the accident had resulted a three-month delay in the completion of the Noida line, but added that all the projects under phase-II would be completed ahead of the Commonwealth Games next year.
Meanwhile, DMRC has decided to blacklist Tandon Construction, appointed by it to inspect the accident site where cracks were reported, for two years.

“The crack on the pier 67 was first noticed on April 1 and we approached them (Tandon Construction) on April 3. They gave us a report on April 15 saying that there was no inadequacy in the design. The consultant misled DMRC and contractor,” said Mr Sreedharan.

 

[NikSha]

DMRC had the best record in the world (the reason why they won awards) so far until Gammon and other private contractors screwed up their security records thanks to the government pushing for faster construction for Commonwealth games.

Either way, they alone have turned Delhi into truly international city compared to any other state in India so kudos. I know they will come back with a bang soon enough.