KOLKATA (Metro Rail News): On Friday, Kolkata East-West Metro tunnel-boring work was stopped after some hours when fresh cracks were spotted on some buildings in Chaitan Sen Lane in Bowbazar. The lane is nearby Gour De Lane where several buildings had caught cracks or subsided after a tunnel-boring machine had hit an aquifer in August. The accident led to the suspension of East-West work for almost 6 months.
Sources declared the tunnel-boring machine will remain closed till Saturday. The engineers will investigate the buildings in the lane to figure out whether the cracks were growing. “If the cracks do not grow and fresh cracks do not appear the tunnel-boring machine will resume work on Sunday,” stated an official of KMRC, the implementing agency of the project.
The total distance of 16.5 kilometre East-West Metro will connect Salt Lake Sector V and Howrah Maidan through a stretch under the ideal Hooghly river. A group of Kolkata Metro engineers visited Chaitan Sen Lane and talked to residents on Friday, trying to help in their fears. Crack-meters have been installed and residents were convinced that the new cracks will not affect the buildings.
“The cracks are very thin and they won’t cause the buildings to collapse,” an engineer stated while talking to the residents of the lane in the afternoon. “Some of the cracks have developed after the tunnel-boring machine crossed this part of the lane.”
Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation had evicted some families from Chaitan Sen Lane before the machine continued work a few days ago. Engineers told there was no need for further evacuation.
