Key Metro safety data hidden from public

Key Metro safety data hidden from public

Experts doubt BMRCL's claim of fool-proof safety tests. DNA, which has been mapping Metro's progress, tells you why

Bosky Khanna. Bangalore



What happened in Delhi could happen here too. The Delhi Metro Rail mishap that killed six workers on Sunday has raised serious doubts about whether the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has conducted fool-proof safety tests on the Metro rail project.
The BMRCL, which says it has conducted the tests, claims it has kept these away from the public domain but experts doubt the claim. As per 2004 norms of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), it is mandatory for agencies and contractors constructing high-rise buildings or elevated structures, as in the metro rail project, to conduct wind analysis and seismic tests.
But consultants and citizens doubt whether these tests have been conducted for Bangalore's elevated metro.
According to MN Sreehari, who is the advisor to the state government for traffic, transport and infrastructure and an expert member ABIDe member, the metro runs on electric power at a height of 3,000 feet (990 metres) above sea level. Strong winds can cause the metro wires to collide, which could cause cracks in pillars. But in the absence of convincing tests, chances of the structure collapsing is more because the girders and pier bearings attached to it will vibrate.
Not just that. The environment assessment impact (EIA) for the project has been done just once, which was six years back. This should be done on a monthly basis. Sreehari says even consultants, who are part of the BMRCL committee, have been denied the right to these test reports. This makes the entire claim doubtful, he says.
But BMRCL's chief spokesperson BL Yeshwanth Chavan says the designs and test reports cannot be made public. "Reports have been prepared with public money and are confidential documents. Why should people be apprehensive about it? Do they mean that BMRCL officials are not experts? The test results can be seen post construction.''