Strike no excuse to delay metro deadline: KMRL to contractors

March 02, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 05:51 am IST - KOCHI

The ongoing quarry strike has hampered Kochi metro rail's civil works.— Photo: H. Vibhu

The ongoing quarry strike has hampered Kochi metro rail's civil works.— Photo: H. Vibhu

: While admitting that the ongoing strike by quarry owners has seriously hampered Kochi Metro’s civil works, Kochi Metro Rail Limited’s MD Elias George has called upon contractors to ramp up operations and to keep the June 2016 deadline. The quarry strike has taken a turn for the worse, with tipper lorry drivers too joining the agitation.

Drawing a contrast with works of Delhi Metro, Mr. George said that the contractors there deployed more number of workers at each site. He said that non availability of granite chips due to the 15-day-old quarry strike is no excuse for crying fowl that the project cannot adhere to the deadline. On the contrary, contractors must make best use of the November-May working season when there is no rain to speed up works.Talks in Kochi

In the meantime, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is expected to convene a meeting of stakeholders in Kochi on Monday, to probe ways to solve the impasse due to shortage of granite chips. On Sunday, Mr Chandy told media of how a pending court case is preventing the government from taking strong measures against the quarry strike.

District Collector M.G. Rajamanickam said here on Sunday that the striking quarry owners are using stoppage of metro works as a tool to bargain with the government.

Faced with men and machinery at Kochi Metro work sites and yards idling for the past fortnight due to the strike, L&T had on Saturday warned of withdrawing from the project’s civil works. He said that contractors cannot blame the ongoing two-week-old strike for their shortcomings in work during the past 20 months. This is no time for blame game and though has to be given to how delays can be overcome and compensated for.

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