Deccan Chronicle 11.08.2009
Metro ‘lands’ properties
Bengaluru, Aug. 10: After the initial hurdles, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has almost completed the land acquisition process for the Metro Rail.
BMRCL had identified 931 private properties out of which it has acquired 710 so far and demolished 548 structures. Apart from technical challenges, acquiring private properties, shifting utilities and carrying out underground work are the major challenges that BMRCL faces, said BMRCL spokesperson B.L. Yeshwanth Chavan.
The company has also come out with a model of the Jayanagar railway station. With the company committed to meeting its deadline of October 2010 on Reach-1, there has steady progress in the work.
Work on the viaduct in Reach–1 is underway on MG Road and the foundation work is nearing completion on CMH Road. The Adarsha Junction-Trinity Circle has also been taken up in a big way. The Byappanahalli depot and workshop work, which have been entrusted to Ms URC Limited, are progressing at full swing. But residents of CMH Road and Indiranagar are apprehensive about safety at the work sites after a few accidents occurred at the Metro sites.
BMRCL authorities were engaging unskilled workers at work sites which requires some minimum skills. Unskilled workers from the North-East are being roped in to cut costs, alleged advocate Pramila Nesargi. But company authorities maintain that all necessary safety measures are in place. All workers are insured and in case of accidents, contractors will bear the medical expense and the victims will also be given adequate compensation, they said.
Tor Steel, which is overseeing quality assurance, said lack of common sense in executing civil works was responsible for the accident on CMH Road.
