Delhi Metro bridge collapse: Rs.1 mn fine on AFCONS

New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS) The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) Monday imposed a fine of Rs.1 million on a private construction firm, a day after an under-construction bridge collapsed here killing two people.

The Metro corporation also suspended two of its engineers for a seemingly technical failure that caused the collapse of the Delhi Metro bridge near Laxmi Nagar, said DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal.

'DMRC has imposed a fine of Rs.1 million on the contractor, AFCONS, (in charge of the segment near the accident site),' Dayal said, adding two officials of the contracting firm have also been removed from the DMRC works.

'Action against the contractor shall be decided on completion of the enquiry', Dayal added.

The accident occurred at around 7 a.m. Sunday in Laxmi Nagar of east Delhi when a launcher machine joining prefabricated, heavy concrete structures between two pillars collapsed, leading to a part of the bridge under construction coming down. Nearly 30 people were also injured.

The road remained blocked Monday morning with debris and parts of machinery still not cleared.

The stretch of road from ITO towards Laxmi Nagar, where the bridge collapsed, was blocked, resulting in the traffic movement between Preet Vihar and ITO coming to a halt. DMRC officials had claimed that the debris would be cleared by Monday morning.

The Vikas Marg stretch sees huge vehicular traffic during morning and evening rush hours. With the road being blocked, commuters had a harrowing time.

'I thought the route would have been cleared by morning. But I forgot that work in our country takes place at a slow pace,' said Ashok Gupta, who takes this route to commute to his office in Ghaziabad.

Dayal said it seems some mechanical failure or material failure of the launcher caused the imbalance and toppling.