BENGALURU: The time was 5 pm. The place? The Majestic area. And then hundreds of waiting people burst into loud cheers and applause as the Kaveri Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) made a thundering entry, rising from a 65 ft deep tunnel. Hearing the TBM roar, curious people living in the vicinity rushed to their balconies and terraces to witness the event, many capturing the moment on their smartphones.
Every time the thundering TBM threw out large chunks of soil with its cutter, the crowd and the Metro employees standing just 17 meters away, cheered loudly.
Even the gods seemed happy, as no sooner did the machine burst through completely, an azan sounded from the nearby mosque. It took 25 minutes for the TBM to cut through 800mm of earth.
For the BMRCL it was a major achievement, as it has been one of its toughest tunneling works. The Kaveri TBM had to pass through thickly populated areas like Chickpet with over 50 year old dilapidated buildings, andneeded to go about the job with utmost care. Only last November buildings in Balepet area developed cracks as a result of Kaveri’s drilling and people had to be shifted out.
The TBM also encountered mixed soil, which made the task even harder. But on Wednesday relief was writ large on the faces of BMRC officials and the celebrations continued for a long time.
Puttenahalli line: Trial from Sept 15
Bengaluru Development minister,K J George, who was there to witness the moment said, “We are hoping to start trials on the Jayanagar line from September 15. And the entire Phase 1 will be completed by November.”
Managing Director of BMRC, Pradeep Singh Kharola said the trials could start from K R Market and the stretch between Chickpet and Majestic could take another two months to get ready. ” Once the tracks are laid two trains will be pushed manually underground towards
Puttenahalli to start the trials. People of the south who have been desperately waiting to see a functional metro ,will have their wish soon,” he added. Kaveri had started tunneling from KIMS hospital in October 2013 and broke through at Chickpet in October 2014. It then started tunneling again on March, 2015 and achieved its breakthrough on June 8 this year.
TBM Krishna, which started boring from KIMS on November 2012, broke through at Chickpet in August 2015 and is expected to make a breakthrough at Majestic in a matter of two months. So far it has been performing better than Kaveri, according to deputy chief engineer Dayananda Shetty. “It is going good, but currently it is tackling 80 per cent of hard rock,” he added.
