Cracks on piers of under-construction metro section leave DMRC in a spot

Barely a few weeks following the Delhi Metro collapse near Zamrudupur, the DMRC is in the news again for the wrong reasons (See: Second mishap follows Delhi Metro bridge collapse) 

The DMRC, which was allegedly accelerating work to meet the deadline and in the process, allegedly, tripping safety processes has again ended up in a tight spot with some cracks coming to light on two piers with cantilevers on the under-construction on the Noida line.

Trial runs on this section of the Metro line are slated to open to the public by end-August. The piers were inspected by DMRC managing director E Sreedharan, who has ordered a thorough inspection into one of the cracks while the other according to him is superficial.

Parallels are being drawn with the Zamrudpur collapse, which featured a similar collapsed pier with a cantilever  - a horizontal structural projection extending from the pillar.

Cantilever piers are used at curves on the metro line with Gammon India being common contractor for both the Badarpur line where the mishap occurred and the Noida stretch, which is now in the spotlight.

The matter came to light when the consultant – Shirish Patel and Associates appointed after the Zarmrudpur incident to carry out checks on the metro's structures - especially cantilevers, noticed the cracks and informed the DMRC.