Metro 7: MMRDA launches two girders for Andheri (East)-Dahisar (East) corridor

Two heavy-duty girders were launched for the Andheri (East) to Dahisar (East) Metro 7 corridor on Sunday between 3 am and 6 am. Since heavy transmission tower lines of TATA Power pass through this pier location, the girders were launched after taking a block from TATA power.

“The heavy-duty activity was carried out successfully despite heavy rain. During the launch, MMRDA senior officials — project director and chief engineer, along with other supporting technical staff, were present. Since it was a crucial task, which needed to be successfully completed within the limited time, the general consultant safety team was also present at the site. As the double circuit of 110kV Borivali-Malad heavy transmission tower lines of TATA Power company were passing on this pier location, it was necessary to take block from TATA Power for safety purposes. We thank the railways, police, MCGM, TATA Power, Reliance Infrastructure and residents. MMRDA, of course, cannot make light of the cooperation of the residents in the surrounding areas. They realise that the Metro is for them,” said Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director, MMRDA.

Weighing 150 tonnes each, the two girders were successfully launched on the eight-metre-high pier near Thakur Complex, Kandivali, with the help of two cranes, Kawathkar added. The girders were taken to the site a day before and set up in the right place with crane counter weights. To ensure that residents are not inconvenienced, the load was shifted to an alternate network.

A Reliance Energy spokesperson said, “We are extremely happy that our proactive arrangements ensured that the U girder at Thakur complex, Kandivali, near Western Express Highway by MMRDA for metro construction work, was erected without inconveniencing our, or Tata Power, consumers… We shifted the load to our alternate network by reconfiguring our robust distribution grid in advance through use of state-of-the-art SCADA and DMS systems. We ensured that no consumer on our network faces any power disruption.”