Library staff blame Mumbai Metro-3 work for cracks in building

Mumbai: Staff of the 125-year-old J.N. Petit library located at Fort, south Mumbai, has claimed that dredging and drilling for Metro 3 has adversely impacted the building housing the library. Recently, a 100kg decorative chunk fell off from the building, alleged an employee. The employee, who requested anonymity, said that on August 25, a complaint was registered with the MMRC (Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation) about the damage caused by Metro 3 work.

The ongoing work on Metro 3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) has got a lot of flak from activists for the number of trees being felled and the high decibel levels. Adding to this are complaints by authorities of heritage buildings along D.N. Road, Fort, where the line goes underground to connect Churchgate and CST stations. A staff who requested anonymity said, “This is a 125-year-old building and it has never suffered such damage in the past. It is only after the MMRC started work that the structure is getting disturbed. The finial (distinctive section or ornament at the apex of the roof) which fell was the result of high vibrations caused due to Metro work.”

When contacted, the MMRC emailed its response saying that it had installed machines nearby the construction sites to gauge vibration levels. The email said, “MMRC has taken all necessary precautions, including installation of monitoring instruments at all buildings in the vicinity of the construction site. As of now, only one complaint has been reported which too was found incorrect during investigation carried out by our general consultant. We are in discussion with the concerned party and will be sharing the final outcome of our investigation.”   

Staff of the 125-year-old J.N. Petit library located at Fort, south Mumbai, has claimed that dredging and drilling for Metro 3 has adversely impacted the building housing the library. Recently, a 100kg decorative chunk fell off from the building, alleged an employee. The employee, who requested anonymity, said that on August 25, a complaint was registered with the MMRC (Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation) about the damage caused by Metro 3 work.

The ongoing work on Metro 3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) has got a lot of flak from activists for the number of trees being felled and the high decibel levels. Adding to this are complaints by authorities of heritage buildings along D.N. Road, Fort, where the line goes underground to connect Churchgate and CST stations. A staff who requested anonymity said, “This is a 125-year-old building and it has never suffered such damage in the past. It is only after the MMRC started work that the structure is getting disturbed. The finial (distinctive section or ornament at the apex of the roof) which fell was the result of high vibrations caused due to Metro work.”

When contacted, the MMRC emailed its response saying that it had installed machines nearby the construction sites to gauge vibration levels. The email said, “MMRC has taken all necessary precautions, including installation of monitoring instruments at all buildings in the vicinity of the construction site. As of now, only one complaint has been reported which too was found incorrect during investigation carried out by our general consultant. We are in discussion with the concerned party and will be sharing the final outcome of our investigation.”