The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Pending works to get over by March

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Pending works to get over by March

Staff Reporter

Delay attributed to sharp rise in prices of raw materials

“After the prices shot up, contractors refused to proceed”
Railways developing 3 km-long link road from Velachery to Taramani

CHENNAI: The pending works at the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) stations between Thirumailai and Velachery will be completed by March next year, Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Transport Project (Railways) S.N.Agrawal said here on Thursday.

He attributed the delay to a sharp rise in prices of raw materials, particularly steel and cement. “After the prices shot up, the contractors refused to proceed. We had to reprocess the tender and now the works are progressing fast,” he said.

While the works at the Kotturpuram station would be completed by December, those at Mandaveli, Greenways Road, Kasturbai Nagar, Indira Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Taramani, Perungudi and Velachery stations would get over by March.

Bus stand

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation is developing a bus stand close to the Velachery station. The Railways are developing a 3 km-long-link road from Velachery to Taramani. Another 2 km-long-link road is being developed from Kasturbai Nagar to Thiruvanmiyur. An additional platform has been sanctioned for the Chennai Beach station.

The State government has offered to develop commercial complexes between the Thirumailai and Velachery stations.

Patronage for MRTS services have improved, especially after the recent fuel crisis in the city, said Additional Divisional Railway Manager N.Swaminathan. Laying of approach roads to Taramani and Perungudi is getting delayed because of encroachments, he said.

Crow menace

With the train network passing through swamps (in Velachery and Perungudi) and the Adyar estuary at Kotturpuram, birds have become regular visitors to MRTS stations.

The most aggressive of the lot, crows, are giving railway officials a tough time. Mr.Swaminathan said, “These days whenever I go for inspection of MRTS stations, the first thing I watch out for is crows! Crows are building their nests on top of overhead electrical cables. It can lead to tripping of wires and disrupt services,” he said.

As a result, the overhead electrification (OHE) staff are also doubling up as crow chasers, he said.

Saplings planted

Railway officials, who took journalists on a tour of the MRTS facilities, planted saplings of Asoka and Neem tree near the entrance of the Velachery station. Tree planting would also be undertaken between Kasturbai Nagar and Thiruvanmiyur.

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