The New Indian Express 15.08.2009

Mishap at Metro work site

The Metro work site on Old Madras Road, where a part of the launching girder fell on the ground while being assembled.

BANGALORE: A BMTC bus that had broken down on Old Madras Road proved lucky for motorists there, as one of the cranes of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), carrying one of the parts of the launching girder fell on the road, in a mishap on Friday. The incident happened in the evening at around 4.30, near the Isolation Hospital while the launching girder was being carried for assembling at the Metro work site.

The crane’s glass cabin was broken. The crane driver Kulvinder Singh escaped unhurt.

An eyewitness said that a BMTC bus, which had broken-down near the Old Madras Road- 100 Feet Road junction had created a traffic jam.

“This resulted in one-way traffic and there was no movement of vehicles on that side of the road where the girder part fell. Thus motorists escaped being hurt,” the eyewitness said.

It is said that the ground on which the crane was moving was uneven and this resulted in the accident.

Speaking to Express, BMRCL public relations officer B L Yashvant Chavan, said that the incident was just a work hazard.

“The crane got tilted as the mud beneath it caved in suddenly,” he added. However, the public blamed BMRCL for not taking precautionary measures like barricading or covering the work site.

Previous incidents

● August 3, 2009 - A pier reinforcement bent completely at Metro station area on CMH Road. Two workers on the work site escaped with minor injuries.

● April 13, 2009 - A Metro pier caught fire on CMH Road. No casualties were reported on that occasion.

● January 2, 2009 - A barricade crashed and fell on Old Madras Road, damaging a car.

● December 15 , 2008 - A crane toppled onto the footpath at Metro work site on CMH Road. No injuries reported.