Gammon India under KMRC lens after Kota mishap

Days after a mishap at a bridge construction project being undertaken by Hyundai Engineering and Gammon India at Kota in Rajasthan, the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) has indicated that it will further scrutinise the adherence to safety norms at the portion of the East-West Metro corridor that is being constructed by Gammon India.

Of the total 13.7-km route of the East-West Metro, the tender for the construction of the 5.70-km long elevated corridor at Salt Lake was awarded to Gammon India earlier this year.

The entire route, which will comprise 12 stations, is likely to cost Rs 4,676 crore and is expected to be completed by 2014.

“We have our own arrangements with Gammon India and we cannot change the contract (because of the Kota accident). However, we will ensure that the safety norms that we have are strictly adhered to and will double check these at the construction site,” a KMRC official said on Tuesday.

In July this year, when six persons were killed in an accident at a construction site of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) where Gammon India has been constructing viaducts, the KMRC had held a review of its safety measures. KMRC Chairman M Ramachandran, who is also Union urban development secretary, had called KMRC Managing Director, also West Bengal transport secretary, to New Delhi to discuss the situation.

However, on Tuesday, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) gave clean chits to Hyundai Engineering and Gammon India for the bridge collapse at Kota but indicated that a probe would be conducted.

Gammon India is among the largest construction engineering firms with a wide portfolio of domestic and international projects including the Mahatma Gandhi Setu at Patna, the Delhi-Noida Bridge Project as well as viaduct construction of the Delhi Metro project.