CMDA engineer exposes chinks in Manjambakkam truck terminal

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

After the state government imposed stringent checks on the quality of
constructions following Moulivakkam building collapse, a Chennai
Metropolitan Development Authority engineer has turned a whistle
blower spilling the beans on the alleged substandard construction of
Rs 20 crore Manjambakkam Container Truck Terminal.

After sending a series of SMSes to the CMDA officials on the quality
of alleged shoddy work in the project, junior engineer  Gnanarathinam,
who has over 15 years experience, shot out a letter to the member
secretary of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority alleging
  poor quality of the work being done on Manjambakkam Container
Truck Terminal.

The project, which was announced during the budget session in 2011-12,
was inaugurated on February this year. It was developed on 12 acres of
land at an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore. The yard was built to
accommodate 400 container trucks at a time and with the projected
turnover of 1000 trucks per day, in order to relieve congestion due to
parking of trucks along the GNT Road and Inner Ring Road (IRR) near
Madhavaram.

A senior official of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority
confirmed that a complaint has been received and investigations are
going on.

Gnanarathinam when contacted by Express was initially reluctant to
divulge anything. He confirmed about the content in the SMSes and
stated that the arch being built at Manjambakkam is unsafe.

He also stated that the site was seven feet below the road as a result
earth was being used to fill the site instead of gravel, which can
bear the heavy load of container trucks,  to build the container truck
parking yard. The gravel costs Rs 500 per metre cube while earth costs Rs 200 per metre cube.

“I have committed many mistakes while working under executive engineer
Srinivasa Rao and superintendent engineer Om Narayanan. I feel guilty.
I have now turned approver,” he said.

However, one of those who have been accused by Gnanarathinam, have
termed the allegations as false. “Let the government conduct an
enquiry and find out the facts,” he said.

Interestingly, CMDA is conducting a departmental enquiry into it but
sources in CMDA feel it is time a team of experts especially from
Central government organizations like IIT or Structural Engineering
Research Centre. “It is a serious issue. It has to be probed by an
independent other than Anna University from which the engineers
concerned hold a degree or diploma,” the source said.

Rao’s name was also linked to the CMDA tower II where work was delayed
for six months over safety issues. It pertains to structural design
violation. But the project was given clean chit by Anna University
professors.

Manjambakkam factfile:

The site was seven feet low from the road. As a result it was decided
to fill the site with gravel.

But instead of gravel which costs Rs 500 per metre cube, CMDA
engineers went for earth which costs Rs 200 per metre cube.

Then they put concrete panels (4x4). Unfortunately a few of the panels
developed cracks.

So to hide it, they used bitumen.

Engineers feel it is highly doubtful that the Rs 22 crore truck
parking yard would last more than two years.

It would result in usual issues of a project gone wrong and repairs
being undertaken frequently.

Other revelations in the letter:

--- The Koyambedu-Stormwater drain doesn’t have iron rods. ----- The
old rods were also not used and neither surrendered to the department.
It was sold by the engineers.
--- Quarry dust was used instead of quality concrete.
--- Irregularities worth Rs 60 lakh was committed which allegedly
shared by Sreenivasa Rao and Om Narayan.