Chennai Metro Rail slaps ₹1 crore fine on contractor, removes four staff after Ramapuram girder crash

Chennai Metro Rail has slapped a fine of ₹1 crore on the contractor for the recent girder crash that occurred at a construction site in Ramapuram, in which a man was killed.
According to officials, following an inquiry, four persons who were directly responsible for the incident have been removed from the project.
Around 9.45 p.m. on June 12, when a two-wheeler rider, Ramesh, was travelling past Manapakkam, two I-girders fell from the under-construction flyover, killing him on the spot. Each of the I-girders weighed nearly 75 tonnes.
Compensation given
Soon after the incident, Chennai Metro Rail Limited issued a statement saying that CMRL and the contractor, Larsen and Toubro (L&T), had given a compensation of ₹25 lakh to the family of the motorist.
Sources said the investigation report indicated that the collapse could have been prevented had the contractor provided support to the girders.
'The contractor should have carried out what is known as 'lateral bracing' — providing support to the mid-section of the girder. While it was mentioned in the detailed design, it was not executed. As a result, the turnbuckle and the steel A-frame could not take the load of girders, and collapsed. Doing this was essential as the the length of the I-girder was 33.3 metres. Action has been taken against those directly responsible with the execution of the work in the area,' a source said.
A safety audit has also been completed, and it has been found that there was no issue with the quality of the concrete, the steel A-frame, and the turnbuckle used in the section.
Work is under way to provide support to the I-girders at the mid-section along this stretch.
Officials of CMRL said they had found that the contractor was primarily responsible for the incident. The supervising agency for the CMRL, the General Consultant (GC), too has to bear responsibility, they say.
The Chief Safety Manager (Environmental, Social, Health and Safety-ESHS); senior ESHS Manager of L&T Safety Engineer; and Senior Deputy Resident Engineer from the GC have been removed from the project.
The 3.15-km flyover is being built below the elevated Metro Rail stretch for Corridor 5 (Madhavaram to Sholinganallur), and is likely to be completed by this year-end.

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