HYDERABAD: In August this year, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) Godavari being used by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) between the Sampige Road-Majestic stretch got stuck while drilling. As a result, work on the tunnel was halted. So the BMRCL decided to employ the other TBM Margarita on the parallel tunnel in order to ensure that the project was not stalled.
A decision on how to extract the stuck machine will be taken in the next few days, BMRCL managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola told Express. “There are two options before us. We can either extract the machine from where it is stuck currently and then repair it before sending it back in, or we can employ a third TBM from the other side to drill till the stuck machine is freed. We will take a decision on what is to be done in the next few days,” he said.
According to Kharola, TBM Godavari was originally slated to complete drilling one end of the tunnel till Majestic before turning around to continue on the parallel tunnel. The work was supposed to be completed by March next year. “We still hope to finish work in time,” he said. The Chief Minister had recently announced that Phase 1 of the Metro will be operational by September next year.