In the aftermath of an incident that killed a 24-year-old woman at a metro station in Hyderabad after a portion of the concrete wall collapsed on her, the L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited has constituted six engineering teams to carry on repair works at metro stations in Hyderabad.
Mounika Reddy was killed after a sharp edge of a plaster piece fell on her from a height of nine metres while she was taking shelter from the rains at the Ameerpet station on September 22. Following reports that pointed out substandard quality of items used, Municipal Administration and Urban Development minister KT Rama Rao had ordered an inquiry to check the quality of the metro rail structure.
The quality checks made by six special engineering teams till date have rectified non-structural cracks, surface plaster peel-offs, concrete chip-offs, loose concrete pieces and loose coping stones at metro stations at Balanagar, Parade Grounds, Rasoolpura, Hitec City, Gandhi Bhavan, LB Nagar, Osmania medical college, New market, and Tarnaka.
In a press release issued by the HMRL on Tuesday, NVS Reddy, managing director, HMRL, said, “As directed by MA&UD minister K. T. Rama Rao, I am closely monitoring identification and rectification of repair works of all metro stations and other structures. L&T formed six special engineering teams equipped with boom lifts, floodlights, etc. While overall position of the structures was found to be safe and satisfactory by experienced engineering teams, not taking chances, even minute non-structural cracks are being rectified.”
On September 22, Mounika Reddy and her cousin Lithika had planned to visit a hostel at Ameerpet and had travelled from Kukatpally to Ameerpet by the Hyderabad Metro. Mounika was standing at a pedestrian zone, taking shelter from the rain, when a block of the mortar fell on her head, and she died as she was being taken to a hospital.
After discussions with family members, L&T has offered to pay a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the family of Mounika.
