Metro pier crashes at Jogeshwari, probe on

A pier reinforcement at a Metro site in Jogeshwari East crashed on Saturday morning. The incident took place due to heavy rain and winds last night. According to an official statement from the MMRDA, no one was injured.

Construction work of Metro 7 is underway from Andheri East to Dahisar East. On Saturday morning, site officials noticed a pier reinforcement had tilted. "At Shankarwadi station, the reinforcement was tilted due to heavy rain and storm at night," said Dilip Kawathkar, joint Project Director (PR), MMRDA. He added that it was "due to unsupported length of more than 10m and heavy reinforcement in station pier."

"During rectification, it tilted within the barricaded area. Immediate action is being taken to rectify this," said Kawathkar.

However, he assured that "precautions are and will be taken during further work by binding the reinforcements at a lower level in two lifts at the stations", adding that, "The contractors have been instructed to investigate into the matter.

MMRDA will take legal action if necessary. Meanwhile, the NGO Watchdog Foundation has written to the Chief Minister and Mumbai police and has demanded that a high-level inquiry should be conducted as well as take action against officials responsible for the incident.

In September 2012, a similar incident occurred during Metro I work, where an under-construction structure had come down killing one worker and injuring a few pedestrians.