Tarpaulin sheet from construction site falls on Metro cable, complaint against builder

According to the complaint, the incident took place on the evening of April 18 when a tarpaulin sheet fell on the overhead wire, of platform no.1, just 300 meters from the platform. As a precautionary measure, the officials had to stop the services from Versova towards Andheri, causing crowding at the station.

MUMBAI: The safety officer of Mumbai Metro 1 has registered a police complaint after a tarpaulin sheet from a nearby construction site fell on the overhead wires near Azad Nagar Metro station. The developer and the contractor of the project are accused of not taking sufficient safety precautions.

Mumbai, India - April 26, 2023: Naman Habitat, a highrise building under construction, near Azad Nagar Metro Station, at Andheri, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

According to the complaint, the incident took place on the evening of April 18 when a tarpaulin sheet fell on the overhead wire, of platform no.1, just 300 meters from the platform. As a precautionary measure, the officials had to stop the services from Versova towards Andheri, causing crowding at the station.

Officials found out that the tarpaulin sheet was from a project named Naman Habitat located about 45 feet from the platform.

“Our safety team, along with a team from Reliance Power, removed the tarpaulin sheet entangled in the overhead wires. We found some spots of wet cement on the 18 X 12 feet sheet, which led us to believe it had fallen off a construction site,” Shyamrao Bandgar, safety officer and the complainant, said in his statement to the police.

The officer added that the operations of the metro had to be stopped for 15 minutes between 6.15 pm and 6.30 pm last Tuesday to prevent the possibility of an untoward incident that would compromise the safety of the commuters during peak commuting time. They said they found out that a project — Naman Habitat — was located close to the station.

“We went to inspect the said project and found that there was some work going on there. The said building is at around 45 feet from the platform,” added the complainant.

Maheshwar Reddy, deputy commissioner of police for Zone 10, said that the Andheri police have booked the accused named by the complainant under the Metro Safety Act, 2022.

A representative of the builder, however, said, “We know there was a plastic sheet that was carried by the wind, across our project Naman Habitat, which landed on the Metro line on April 18. There was no injury or loss of life due to this. There is no falling of any construction material from our site.”