A major accident was averted as the scaffolding to build a 15-feet-long pier arm on one of the pillars on the busy 100 feet road at Vadapalani collapsed when liquid concrete was being poured into it on Thursday afternoon. No one was injured. There were no vehicles on the stretch.
The Chennai Metro Rail limited has ordered a detailed probe. The accident occurred at 2.45 p.m on the Rs 2,500 crore-Koyambedu-St Thomas Mount metro rail project site. Residents claim many motorists would have been injured if the accident had occurred during peak hours. By 3.15 p.m., the accident site was teeming with policemen, Metro Rail officials and onlookers.
“An autorickshaw driver was heading towards Vadapalani signal at the time of the accident. When he saw the arm collapsing, he turned his vehicle around and stopped,” said Mohamed Ismail, a shop owner in Mosque Street, some 20 feet away from the site. The scaffolding fell from a height of 18 metres. “I head a loud sound and thought the pillar had collapsed. I was initially worried someone would be injured. But there was no one on the road except for the autorickshaw,” said Mr. Mohamed.
Metro Rail officials said the welding was weak and unable to withstand the load. “It could have been a major accident had we not temporarily built enclosures on a section of the road from Koyambedu to Vadapalani. The scaffolding fell within the cordoned off area,” said a Metro Rail official.
Residents complain that the work is being carelessly done. “Though the filling of concrete is a temporary work, utmost care should have been taken. We will now study how it happened, how it can be rectified. We have asked for a detailed report from the consultants,” said the official.
Keywords: Chennai Metrol Rail project, scaffolding crash
As there is no casuality, the issue should not be taken casually. All other safety parameters to be checked throughly by experts. Similarly the employees working in such projects should be covered under insurance adequately. Build a strong nation without any compromise.
People might have argued that it would have not happened in western countries at all. It can happen anywhere, where humans are deployed. But the difference is, the construction company would be accountable in other countries, where as here, no one. I repeat, no one would be held accountable, even in case of any casualty.
The cause of the accident could be immediately known and it is due to a
welding problem. An arm in the scaffolding could not bear load as can
be seen from the press report.Eminent GMs like Mr.Somasundaram will be
able to analyse and find out a solution for such failure. He has got
vast experience in handling any sitution. We can be rest assured that
the project will march on fast towards the completion.
This is nothing new for Tampa, Florida residents! Here (concrete) sections of Roads ( Cross town express way & Clearwater bridge) have collapsed during construction. So, if it can happen here, given the amount of liability the construction company will face, it is hardly surprising that only a scaffolding has given way in Chennai! I am NOT minimizing the problem but pointing out that such accidents do happen and the construction company must be held fully accountable. But on this pretext the work on this section of the Metro rail should not be stopped for months or years, it should be completed on time.
This freak incident creates suspicion among public about the quality of construction. Hence it is duty of the metro rail officials to clear the air.
what is that a consultant could do ?
it is already said the welding was weak to bear the load of the freshly
loaded concrete
it looks like a clear case of negligence at work
The infrastructure standards in India are pathetic to say the least. We have high ambitions of competing with China - and look at the standards that we are keeping to!
And as usual we will be told that "the government will order a probe".
We are experts in ordering probes and appointing enquiry commissions whenever something fails, but not good at developing failsafe mechanisms.
"welding was weak and unable to withstand the load"could happen
only in country like ours! It is common to come across welding
carried out most casually with abysmal lack of knowledge. Few days
ago in a park in JP Nager 3 Phase,Bangalore, an entire welded
structure of rain shelter suddenly collapsed due rank bad welding
and use of highly inferior structural beams. It is earnestly hoped
that huge infrastructural companies employ only welders possessing
certification and professional certification, having passed an
examination/test conducted by The Indian Institute of Welding, the
only Authorised National Body of the International Institute of
Welding in India to offer its education, qualification and
certification.
The CM - Ms. Jayalalithaa - is answerable to the public for this
mishap. Due to her attitude of
attacking the Centre for every decision she has made the people
of Tamil Nadu extremely careless.
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