Chennai: Foaming sand causes flutter

Chennai: Due to Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) tunneling work underway on  on Anna Salai, Monday evening, foaming sand gushed out to the road causing minor traffic deviation until the sand was cleared.

According to CMRL officials, within an hour of sand gushing out was reported outside Spencer Plaza, tthe road was barricaded and steps were taken to clean it up.

“The sand came out because of excavation of tunnel for the metro rail project.

The work for removing the sand from the road was undertaken and there was no damage,” an official said.

According to another metro official, such discharge happens if the soil strata are not firm. “Similar incidents have happened earlier near Central Station and also near Fort Station. The foundation of the structure could have a weak point through which sand, rocks or foam can gush out,” he said.

He added that CMRL while beginning tunnelling process, seals all bore wells in a region to avoid such incidents and people are compensated for the same.

“A survey is carried out by CMRL before the tunnelling process and if the structure is found weak, modifications are made to the plan to a manageable extent. Such disturbances occur during the course of tunneling but later does not cause issues as tunnel structure provides for a strong base,” he added.