The 40-year-old man behind wheel escaped unhurt, but the windshield was not that lucky
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) seems to have not learnt lessons on work site safety even after several fatal accidents.
Chennai: Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) seems to have not learnt lessons on work site safety even after several fatal accidents. Metro rail’s casualty count due to non-compliance of safety standards would have increased by another number on Saturday when a five-foot iron rod fell from the overhead work site on a moving car on arterial GST Road. The 40-year-old man behind wheel escaped unhurt, but the windshield was not that lucky.
It was around 1.30 am when Rafiq (40), a resident of Ramapuram, who was returning home from airport, felt a heavy object hit the roof of his car while he was driving past the overhead metro worksite on GST road near the old airport at Meenambakkam. As the windshield shattered to pieces, panic-hit Rafiq drove a few paces and stopped the vehicle only to find a huge iron rod on the car roof.
Several trailing vehicles stopped a safe distance away from the overhead work site where workers were busy welding and moving objects 50 feet above the ground. Though an unearthly hour, the road was sufficiently packed with cars, mostly from the airport. Rafiq and other anxious car users alighted from the vehicle and climbed up the work site where only Hindi-speaking workers were moving iron objects without any supervision.
The traffic snarl brought policemen who ordered suspension of works after some inquiries. Neither a steel mesh/net was tied overhead to prevent the fall of such iron objects nor was a safety supervisor present at the time of the accident. Rafiq who started home banking on insurance cover, wondered, “What if I had travelled on a bike? It would have certainly proved fatal. Steel nets should have been tied beneath the platforms, but I don’t see any net here. Workers are just going about their business without a supervisor.”
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
