Work at East-West Metro halts as over 10 labourers test positive

Kolkata: The tunnelling work of East-West Metro near Bowbazar stopped after more than 10 workers were detected COVID-19 positive.

"14 workers (labourers and supervisors involved in operating the tunnel-boring machine or TBM), have been tested COVID-19 positive," said an official of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL), the East-West Metro project implementing agency.

"That is why tunneling work on the East-West Metro corridor in Bowbazar locality of Kolkata has been partially affected," said the official of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited.

The tunnelling work of the East-West Metro near Bowbazar, stopped for 85 days due to nationwide lockdown to prevent COVID-19, resumed on

June 19.

While tunnel boring machine Chandi became redundant after hitting against an aquifer last year on August 31, its twin Urvi took up the task of burrowing the remaining portion covering a length of around 1.8km.

"As per protocol, the entire area where the infected labourers were working are being sanitized," said A K Nandy, general manager (Administration), Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Limited.

The East-West Metro starts from Salt Lake Sector V to Howrah Maidan covering a distance of 16.5 kilometres.

The first phase of East West Metro, inaugurated by Railway minister Piyush Goyal on February 13, consists of Salt Lake Sector V station, Karunamoyee, Central Park, City Centre, Bengal Chemical and Salt Lake Stadium stations. It was thrown open to the public on February 14.

The path of the East-West Metro will be over ground from Sector V till Subhas Sarovar station and will then go underground. In the entire stretch, around 520 metres of tunneling has been done underneath the river Hooghly.