Another Zamrudpur in the making? Locals live in fear

NOIDA: The eagerly awaited Metro line to Noida has already started giving jitters to potential commuters and residents in and around Sector 14. During an inspection at the site on Sunday, DMRC engineers found cracks on two pillars 10 and 14 and a support was immediately placed under the pier at Pillar 10.
Now, commuters taking the route along the Metro overbridge are scared of a repeat of the Zamrudpur incident.
"A trial run took place on Saturday and the pillars don't seem to be able to take the load. The cracks are showing. Why is DMRC in such a hurry to complete its projects? Such construction faults should have been looked into before the trial run. We have waited so long for the Metro and a few more months will not hurt anyone. Safety should be looked into first,'' said B V Pushpanjan, a resident of Sector 15 who had parked his car right below pillar 10 in Sector 14.
People say it could be catastrophic if there were to be a Metro pillar collapse on such a busy stretch. "There was a lot of crowd around these two pillars on Saturday. Even though the cracks are not visible through the naked eye, there is obviously something wrong with them as construction workers have installed a support,'' said Niranjan Sharma, an assistant security officer at the National Dairy Development Board that is located right across Pillar 10.
Passersby have also started engaging in heated discussions among themselves on the alignment of the cantilever piers in the area. "It is easy to see that the alignment of the cantilever is not correct it is not at the central point of the pillar. There can be a fatal accident if the alignment is not corrected. People will fear taking the Metro if such faults keep recurring,'' said Subhash Chandra, a retired government officer.
Hawkers have decided to shift their goodies to the other side of the road for the time being. Om Prakash Kumar, a vegetable-seller, said: "These Metro mishaps have become so common and unpredictable that a couple of us are not selling vegetables under the Metro overbridge. Better be safe than sorry.''