Officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) on Sunday inspected two buildings on Prakasam Salai in George Town that had developed cracks.
The cracks, spotted on Saturday, had occurred due to tunnelling work being carried out as part of Metro Rail’s construction work in the area, and the buildings — an Aircel office and Excellent Hotel — had been subsequently evacuated.
“The tunnel boring machine (TBM) had drilled underneath the Aircel office a few days ago, and on Saturday night, it bored underneath Excellent Hotel as well. Repairs in the hotel have already been completed and the hotel opened for business on Sunday. Repairs at the Aircel office have begun and will be completed soon,” a CMRL official said.
Officials also removed the tapes sealing a stretch on Meeranlabbai Street, which had been cordoned off on Saturday, as the TBM completed drilling there. However, residents of the street complained that new cracks had appeared on their houses. CMRL officials though said that the cracks in the houses here were old ones.
“When we surveyed the buildings before the work started, we noted the cracks in every building. Metro work has not caused any new cracks,” the official said.
