Bengaluru: How many Pillar No. 155s are there?

Bengaluru: 48 hours after serious flaws were detected on Pillar no 155, on the Indiranagar-M.G. Road stretch on the Purple Line of Namma Metro, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara inspected the damaged metro pillar in the Trinity Station on Saturday.

In a bid to calm fears on the Metro's safety, Dr. Parameshwara announced that a stringent check of each and every pillar was going to be undertaken to ensure there are no hidden defects that have gone undetected. "A concrete beam rests on the pier cap installed above every pier. This surface is generally smooth. During a recent inspection, the maintenance team found a honeycomb structure on the beam above Pier 155. So the corporation is waiting for the action plan which will take another three days. But I have instructed them to inspect each and every pillar of metro structure before getting action plan. So if we find any same issue, than that can be solved easily," the senior minister said.

Shoddy maintenance is why Metro defect went unnoticed

The defects found in Namma Metro pillar number 155 has once again kicked up a debate over the quality of construction of infrastructure projects in Karnataka. A senior engineer with the state government who is part of the team that was involved in building at least two flyovers said that it wasn't sub-standard construction by those who get expensive government projects as much as substandard maintenance once the project was completed that was the problem.

He said that the contractor knew very well that substandard work may lead to accidents so they would not take such a risk. "What they do is, the contract has a clause of annual maintenance where they will siphon off funds by showing fake bills. In some projects, the maintenance cost is very high. They do nothing, no maintenance at all, and get away with pocketing crores of rupees," he said.