The Hindu : New Delhi News : Thefts at Metro sites delaying work

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 12, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Thefts at Metro sites delaying work

By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI, JULY 11. Working overtime to meet the tight deadline for completing Line 3 of the Delhi Metro project, the contractors are also having to encounter a hidden enemy - thieves who cart away anything of value they can lay their hands on at the project site.

And while on the one hand this has led to a loss of around Rs 50 lakhs to the contractors, these thefts also often lead to minor delays in particular works.

Though the contractors working on the Metro project had also experienced thefts while constructing Line I of the project passing from Shahdara to Rithala, it was not this acute and only minor thefts used to take place.

But in the Uttam Nagar to Kakraula section of West Delhi, the official said the thefts have become rampant.

"The favourite item is iron. Even a small piece fetches them a good price as the iron we use costs Rs 30 per kg in the open market,'' noted the engineer adding that this often delays the work as more iron is requisitioned for the job.

Pointing out that most thefts take place at night, the official said, there have been many occasions when thieves have also walked away with small equipment and machinery such as cutters, welders and drills.

"Every time a theft takes place, it is brought to the notice of the area police. But they do nothing saying it is not possible for them to secure all the Metro sites.''

The engineer added that the contractors have been left to fend for themselves and at most of the places increased the number of private security personnel.

However, he said, such incidents do not augur well for the project as it is trying to adhere to a very tight schedule - which seeks the completion of the 22.93 km corridor from Barakhamba Road to Dwarka in a record 33 months.

Stating that there have been some instances where work has been pushed behind schedule due to the thefts, the engineer said, the police should be more responsive as providing protection to the system is their job.

Averring that the matter has also been raised by senior Delhi Metro officials and contractors with the top bosses of the Delhi police, he said, the response has sadly been not very encouraging.

What is particularly irking the contractors and Delhi Metro officials is the fact that the entire Uttam Nagar area has posed numerous problems in construction right from the time acquisition process was initiated.

"First we faced a lot of problem with the numerous illegal buildings which came on the Metro route. Though these were mainly encroachments on the main road there was a land mafia behind them which opposed every move of ours. In some cases, the buildings had come so far towards the Main Najafgarh Road or Shivaji Marg that they had completely encompassed the high tension wire poles.''

And after the acquisition was done, the official said, the thefts began. "For once they seemed to be a deliberate ploy to delay the construction or to avenge the acquisition. As no one has been held despite the losses running into lakhs of rupees, we still wonder as to who is behind them since most of them are confined to a given area.''

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