Wadala girder collapse exposes MMRDA’s management disaster

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's claims of having an efficient disaster management system proved hollow on Thursday with their handling of the accident at Wadala.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's claims of having an efficient disaster management system proved hollow on Thursday with their handling of the accident at Wadala. The slow response from the agency and the contractors to the girder collapse on the Eastern Freeway project site exposed the MMRDA's inadequate disaster management machinery.

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Residents complained that the cranes to remove debris took over two hours to arrive. There also seemed to be an utter lack of coordination between MMRDA and officials from the project contractor Simplex Ace Infrastructure Ltd. To add to it, Simplex officials could not be reached by MMRDA officials who visited the site. There were also reports that Simplex officials were not responding to calls made by MMRDA officials.

To ensure it is not accused of going soft on the contractor, MMRDA has decided to speed up the process of penalising the contractor for an earlier accident. "We have initiated action to debar them from taking up any work with MMRDA for two years for failure to observe safety norms in the Lalbaug flyover project. However, any action over Thursday's incident can be taken only after we find out the reasons for the accident," said metropolitan commissioner Rahul Asthana.

The MMRDA will set up a technical committee to investigate the accident and find out what went wrong. Prima facie, it appears that the accident occurred after a launching girder collapsed. However, the MMRDA is unsure whether it was because of a stress fracture or if the equipment just slipped. A spokesperson for Simplex said: "Prima facie, the cause of the mishap seems to be some kind of mechanical failure of equipment engaged for erection. A team of experts in the field has been deputed to investigate the details and necessary action will be taken on the basis of this report."

The MMRDA has now decided to stop work on the Eastern Freeway project and has asked the contractor to check the condition of all launching girders.