Construction flaws caused crash at Manapakkam: CMRL officials
The construction flaws appear to have led to the girders crash at Manapakkam in which a 43-year-old person was crushed to death on Thursday night.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) a detailed investigation into the incident has begun. 'Prima facie, it appears that the method of construction is at fault. The I-girders should have been secured well,' an official said. In addition, the vibration from movement of heavy vehicles over an undulation of a recently closed pothole on the road too could have triggered the incident. It could have been prevented if the girders were firmly secured, the official suspected.
Around 9.45 p.m., as 43-year-old Ramesh, a resident of Nagercoil was travelling past Manapakkam, the girders from the under-construction flyover fell on him. At this location, a double-decker corridor's construction has been ongoing for years. While the flyover is at the first level, CMRL's phase II elevated corridor 5 runs above it.
Last week, very close to the location where the incident occurred, CMRL claimed a 'historic engineering feat' after erecting a 33.3 metre U-girder for the elevated corridor. While the U-girders are fixed here for building the Metro Rail's elevated stretch, the I-girders are deployed for the building of the flyover linking Mugalivakkam with MIOT Hospital. These I-girders are also long, unlike the standard 25 metre girders, measuring 33.3 metres, officials said.
'The instability could have been also because of the I-girder length. Shorter spans usually don't cause such issues. Even in the case of the OMR, we had a 30 metre long I-girder and there were no incidents. Here, too, if the steel A-frame holding the I-girders at both points were held tight, the accident would have not occurred. We also suspect there may have been uneven loading on the frame. Only a detailed investigation will reveal the reasons,' another official said.
CMRL has begun an extensive safety audit. Wherever the I-girders have been placed, like for instance, in Mount-Poonamallee Road or the IT Corridor, a team of engineers are checking every span. 'We are placing additional rods in between the I-girders and strengthening them with welding yet again at both ends,' he said.
CMRL officials also said, the U-girders placed in most parts of the elevated corridor for the phase II project are safe. There are also safety officers who periodically check each site, they said.
In a statement, the CMRL said: 'Subsequent to the unfortunate incident involving the collapse of the two I-girders at Manapakkam, resulting in the demise of Mr Ramesh from Nagercoil, Chennai Metro Rail Limited has provided an immediate ex-gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakhs to the bereaved family. In addition, the contractor Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has extended a compensation of Rs 20 lakhs to the family. An enquiry has been constituted to investigate the incident.'
Sources said, locations like Saligramam should be checked and also the weights installed for overhead equipment on Arcot Road lack encasing in some of the locations and needs to be addressed to avoid any more accidents. 'If the safety officers really did periodical checks, then, one life wouldn't have been lost. They have been careless,' a source said.
One of the commuters R K Ravichandran, a resident of Iyyapanthangal who frequently travels via Arcot Road and Mount - Poonamallee Road said, there are times he has feared about the Metro Rail structures above and if it could fall. 'It was scary to hear what happened last night. When CMRL is carrying out construction, they should step up safety and make that the priority,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Video: Bengaluru Auto Driver Screams At Woman Over Fare, Demands She Speak Kannada
In recent times, the Kannada language row in Karnataka has sparked significant debate, particularly in Bengaluru, a city known for its multicultural population. While advocates suggest people learn the language, claiming it's a way of respecting the local culture, critics argue that such a demand is exclusionary in a cosmopolitan setting. Now, a video of a heated argument between a woman and a Bengaluru auto rickshaw driver has reignited the language debate online. Taking to Instagram, user Anya S shared a video in which the auto driver is seen speaking in Kannada in a visibly aggressive tone. She said that the argument between the two began after the driver demanded Rs 390 for a ride that, according to her Rapido app, was supposed to cost Rs 296. In the video, Anya repeatedly tells the driver that she will pay what the app says. "Don't scream at me. I'll only pay what the app says," she says. However, as the driver continues to scream at her, she calls over another auto-rickshaw driver, saying, "Aap yahan aao, mujhe darr lag raha hai (Come here, I'm feeling scared)." The driver, on the other hand, becomes aggressive, demanding that she speak Kannada. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anya S (@anyadamnson) In the caption, Anya recounted the entire incident. "This isn't about refusing to learn the local language - of course I want to learn Kannada. But when people behave like this, it makes me question myself. It makes me think, why should I make the effort when they don't know how to treat me with basic respect?" she wrote. "I calmly told him I'd pay what the app showed. Rs 296. That's it. But he began shouting. He stepped in, came close - trying to intimidate me, scare me. He mocked me for speaking Hindi. Told me I had no right to be here if I didn't speak Kannada. But this wasn't about language. This was about entitlement, aggression, and disrespect," Anya continued. She further made it clear that she wasn't against paying extra when deserved. "I'm someone who happily pays extra when I've had a good ride. But not when someone tries to bully or threaten me into it," she wrote. "We're part of this city. We live here, we work here, we contribute to its economy. And that means we deserve fairness, dignity, and safety - no matter what language we speak. If you've ever felt unsafe or second-guessed yourself in moments like this - you are not wrong. You are not alone. And you have every right to say no," she concluded. As the video gained traction online, ride-hailing app Rapido responded, assuring action. "At Rapido, customer safety and dignity are our highest priorities, Anya... the reported captain has been permanently barred from our platform. Additionally, we are working on implementing stronger protocols for our captains to prevent such incidents in the future," the company commented. Bengaluru locals also responded to the clip. One user wrote, "As a proud Kannadiga, I want to apologize for the unacceptable behavior of some individuals who are tarnishing our reputation and that of South India. I recommend exploring alternative transportation options like Yulu electric scooters, buses, and metros. On behalf of all educated Kannadigas, we extend our sincerest you're safe and okay." "Last resort when they get caught is speak in Kannada , these unruly autodrivers don't represent Karnataka and our Kannada . They behave the same with Kannadigas too," commented another.
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Explained: The cost of rising imports
Rao Gulab Singh Lodi has harvested roughly 90 quintals of summer moong (green gram) from his 16-acres land in Nanhegaon village of Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district. His major worry: The government's apathy in procuring the pulses crop that's fetching Rs 6,000 or so per quintal in the open market, as against its official minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 8,682. It's not only moong. Lodhi cultivates soyabean during the kharif (monsoon) season, sowing the leguminous oilseed in early-July and harvesting by mid-October, followed by chana (chickpea) and masoor (red lentil) during rabi (winter-spring). After harvesting masoor towards March 10 and chana around March 15-20, he sows summer moong that matures in 60-70 days. In none of these crops is there any systematic government procurement at MSP, comparable to that in rice and wheat. 'It is my misfortune that I cannot grow rice or even wheat (except for self-consumption) here. The black cotton soil in my area is basically suitable for pulses and oilseeds,' says Lodhi. The 65-year-old is a progressive farmer. He plants the best recommended varieties, whether in soyabean ('JS 20-116' and 'JS 2172' bred by the Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya at Jabalpur), moong ('PDM 139' by the Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur), masoor ('IPL 329' by the same institute) or chana ('Pusa Manav' by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi). But Lodhi isn't as lucky as the farmers who take rice and wheat. Soyabean is selling in MP's mandis at Rs 4,100-4,200 per quintal. That's below not only the MSP of Rs 5,328 for the upcoming 2025-26, but even the Rs 4,892 of last year's crop. The low prices notwithstanding, Lodhi is going ahead with planting soyabean: 'Vikalp kya hai (what option do I have)?'. The woes for Indian pulses and oilseeds growers come amid all-time-high imports during 2024-25 (April-March). In the case of pulses, these touched 7.3 million tonnes (mt) and valued at $5.5 billion, surpassing the previous record of 6.6 mt and $4.2 billion for 2016-17. Pulses imports had actually registered a substantial dip after 2017-18, to an average of 2.6 mt worth $1.7 billion during the subsequent five years (Charts 1a and 1b). This came on the back of improved domestic production. India's pulses output, which stood at 19.3 mt in 2013-14 and 17.2 mt in 2014-15 and 16.3 mt in 2015-16 (both drought years), climbed to 27.3 mt in 2021-22 and 26.1 mt in 2022-23. Much of that was courtesy of chana and moong, with scientists breeding short-duration varieties (100-120 days) requiring hardly any irrigation in the former and those amenable to growing across all seasons in the latter. Farmers today plant moong in kharif and rabi as well as spring and summer. However, the relative self-sufficiency or atmanirbharta achieved in pulses was reversed in 2023-24, which was an El Niño-induced drought year. Domestic production dropped to 24.2 mt in 2023-24 and recovered partly to 25.2 mt in 2024-25, as per the Agriculture Ministry's data. Falling output and retail inflation in pulses soaring to double digits by mid-2023 led to a slashing of duties on imports, which peaked during the last fiscal. The 7.3 mt of pulses imports in 2024-25 included 2.2 mt of yellow/white peas (largely from Canada and Russia), 1.6 mt of chana (from Australia), 1.2 mt each of arhar or pigeon-pea (from Mozambique, Tanzania, Myanmar, Sudan and Malawi) and masoor (from Canada, Australia and United States), and 0.8 mt of urad or black gram (from Myanmar and Brazil). As imports surged, the consumer price index (CPI) inflation in pulses eased to 3.8% year-on-year by December 2024 and further to 2.6%, -0.4%, -2.7%, -5.2% and -8.2% in the following five months. The shoe is on the other foot now, with arhar and chana selling at Rs 6,400-6,450 and Rs 5,450-5,500 per quintal respectively in Maharashtra's Latur mandi, below their corresponding MSPs of Rs 7,550 and Rs 5,650. In vegetable oils, the story has been a more uniform one – of increasing import dependence. The last 11 years have seen imports more than double from 7.9 mt to 16.4 mt, a trend that the Narendra Modi government may want to arrest, if not reverse. In value terms, imports almost trebled from $7.2 billion in 2013-14 to $20.8 billion in 2022-23, which was around the time when international prices skyrocketed owing to supply disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine war. While global prices have come off those peaks, the quantum of imports has continued to rise (Charts 2a and 2b). The 16.4 mt of imports during 2024-25 mainly comprised 7.9 mt of palm (primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia), 4.8 mt of soyabean (from Argentina and Brazil) and 3.5 mt of sunflower oil (from Russia, Ukraine and Argentina). On the other hand, India's production of oil from domestically grown oilseeds and secondary sources such as cottonseed, rice bran and maize is estimated at just about 10 mt, translating into an import dependence of well over 60%. CPI inflation in vegetable oils, unlike pulses, has been ruling at double digits since November 2024, with the latest May reading at 17.9%. It explains the Modi government's decision, on May 30, to cut the basic customs duty on crude palm, soyabean and sunflower oil from 20% to 10% and the overall import tariff (after adding an agriculture cess and social welfare surcharge) from 27.5% to 16.5%. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects the lowering of duty to result in a 'further increase' in soyabean oil imports by India. Although its market is dominated by Argentina, 'the reduced tariff can boost the import of US soyabean oil,' a USDA report, dated June 10, has stated. All this would mean imports likely hitting a new high in the current fiscal, even as the USDA has projected a record-breaking global vegetable oil output of 235 mt for 2025-26, led by palm (80.7 mt) and soyabean (70.8 mt). And that may not be good news for farmers like Lodhi. The Soyabean Processors Association of India has expressed concern over the 11-percentage points duty cut, which is expected to 'flood the Indian market with cheaper imported oils'. That will make oilseed cultivation less attractive to farmers, who may sow less area and switch to other more profitable crops in this kharif season, said Davish Jain, chairman of the Indore-based association. Harish Damodaran is National Rural Affairs & Agriculture Editor of The Indian Express. A journalist with over 33 years of experience in agri-business and macroeconomic policy reporting and analysis, he has previously worked with the Press Trust of India (1991-94) and The Hindu Business Line (1994-2014). ... Read More
NDTV
3 hours ago
- NDTV
DNA Of 9 Plane Crash Victims Matched, 1st Body Handed Over To Family Members
With DNA profiling of nine victims of Thursday's Air India crash complete, the hospital authorities handed over the first body to a family in Ahmedabad Saturday. As per protocol, bodies are being released only after complete DNA verification and legal paperwork. Earlier, eight victims, who were identified by their relatives and did not need DNA profiling as their bodies were not damaged, had been handed over to their families by the hospital. Doctors on Saturday said around 270 bodies have been brought to the hospital from the air crash site so far. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London, issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday, bursting into a fireball as it hit residential buildings, in one of the worst plane disasters the country has seen. There was one survivor out of 242 passengers and crew on board the jet when it crashed, leaving the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of a hostel for medical staff. Distraught relatives of passengers have been providing DNA samples in Ahmedabad, with some having to fly to India to help the process. The official casualty number will not be finalised until the slow process of DNA identification is completed. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. Those killed ranged from a former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, to a teenage tea seller. The lone survivor, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old businessman based in the UK, said even he could not explain how he survived. Mr Ramesh was in seat 11A, positioned in the first row of economy class, and close to the emergency exits on the left side. The section opposite him, where the plane had rammed into a wall, was sealed off by debris and fire. None of the occupants from those rows survived. "The door must've broken on impact," he said. "There was a wall on the opposite side, but near me, it was open. I ran. I don't know how." "I don't know how I came out of it alive," Mr Ramesh told Doordarshan. "For a while, I thought I was about to die. But when I opened my eyes, I saw I was alive. And I opened my seat belt and got out of there. The airhostess and aunty uncle all died before my eyes," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Mr Ramesh on Friday at the hospital where he is being treated for burns and other injuries Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said that a flight data recorder, or black box, had been recovered, saying it would "significantly aid" investigations. Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation or DGCA has directed Air India to immediately carry out the additional maintenance actions on its B787-8/9 aircraft equipped with Genx engines. The tests include inspection of Fuel Parameter Monitoring and associated system checks; inspection of cabin air compressor and associated systems; Electronic Engine Control System Test; Engine Fuel Driven Actuator-Operational Test and oil system check; serviceability check of Hydraulic system; and Review of Take-off parameters. Following the crash, the Tata group, which owns Air India, announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic plane crash.
