Woman's death at Metro; Tel govt directs HMRL to probe it

Taking a serious view of the death of a woman at a Metro station here after a sharp edged piece of plaster from fell on her head, the Telangana government on Monday directed Metro Rail to get it probed by independent engineering experts and take required remedial measures.

Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban DevelopmentK T Rama Raoinstructed Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited Managing Director N V S Reddy to take steps on the matter.

In a freak accident, the 24-year-old housewife died after a small plaster piecepeeled off andfell on her from the surface wall of Ameerpet metro station on Sunday.

Reddy said that the minister emphasised that the matter needs to be taken very seriously and that all structures and facilities at metro stations should be minutely checked to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

The Minister reiterated the need to maintain the reputation gained by Hyderabad Metro for its high quality and safety standards, he said.

The MD said that the concessionaire, L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited, which is building the 72 km long elevated HMRL project across three corridors, agreed to pay Rs 20 lakh as compensation to the deceased woman's family after holding discussions with them.

In the incident on Sunday, the sharp edged plaster piece peeled off from the surface wall of the station from a height of about nine meters and fell on the woman's head.

She succumbed to her injuries while being taken to a hospital.