Chennai: As metro chugs along, residents rattled

Chennai: Call it the heights of lethargy and negligence; the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has disowned the repair and rehabilitation work of the damaged buildings along its underground lines, which it initially promised during the tunnel boring works. And this has now shocked several building owners and residents of Central and North Chennai.  

When Deccan Chronicle interacted residents of Choolaimedu, Kilpauk, Washermenpet, Egmore, Shenoy Nagar and Chintadripet, (where buildings developed crack during metro construction) they vented out their anger against metro rail contractors and the authorities for not keeping their promise. Adding to the ire, CMRL has now started blaming the 2015 Chennai floods for the recent cracks, which has started reappearing along the areas where the trains are operated via underground tunnels.

“Two years back, they did cosmetic repair work and now the cracks are appearing again. The contractors who took the tunnel works are now missing and the Chennai metro rail is elusive,” said Leela Devi, a building owner in the Thiru Vi Ka Colony, Shenoy Nagar.

The Chennai metro rail authorities who used to visit the place daily for an NOC are nowhere to be seen after the completion of work. Moreover, the same department that filled the cracks till 2016, now denies to take responsibility for the new cracks,” fumed Leela Devi.

When contacted, an official from the CMRL said, “The 2015 floods have caused a lot of damage to the soil and apartments. This could be one of the reasons for the damage. Also, we have a system that monitors the amount of vibration, which we observe daily. Site engineers are on their toes to prevent a mishap.
Regarding the Shenoy Nagar incident, on “humanitarian grounds”, we would repair one house badly damaged.”

A worried resident of Ayya Mudali Street in Chintadripet, Kalpana K. said, “A week after we felt the tremors, wide cracks appeared on the walls. The vibrations were scary and the officials had promised that this is only temporary. But, now we are scared if the problem would begin once the train starts functioning.”

The plight of residents is alike at Washermenpet where the tunnelling work has just commenced. One of the residents, P. Rajkumar,  said water was all over his house due to the seepage from the pipelines and broken tiles. “Tell me what mistake I have made to suffer this at the hands of metro rail”, he asks out of frustration.

CMRL MD: Awaiting IIT report

Unlike the elusive metro contractors and field officials, Chennai metro rail managing director Pankaj Kumar Bansal responded positively. Partially agreeing that vibrations could have made matters worse for the damaged buildings, the top official told DC that CMRL is waiting for the IIT report. Besides the vibration, there could be cavities between the tunnel and the buildings creating cracks. We do not want this to recur in other areas, hence detailed study will be done and we are concerned about the public and their fear.