CHENNAI: It was around 5:30 am when Asifa, who was offering Namaz, found slurry and foam engulfing her rented apartment on the ground floor in Muthai Street, Washermanpet.
Fearing something strange, she let out a shriek. “The slurry and foam entered our house and, with the owner’s help, we rushed Asifa out. She was unable to move freely due to pregnancy,” recalled Taj Sharif, her sister.
The slurry and foam, that sparked a panic in the household, is nothing but a mixture of bentonite and water used for constructing the tunnel for the underground stretch of the Chennai Metro. Bentonite is a range of clay minerals — potassium, calcium and sodium montmorillonite.
“The mixture from the underground tunnel escaped out as one of the borewells in the residential complex was not plugged. The cavity resulted in a leak of pressure generated by the tunnel boring machine at work 18 metres below,” said a Metro Rail spokesperson.
“The owner had informed us about two borewells and they were plugged but information on the third borewell was withheld by the house-owner during instrumentation and monitoring carried out by Chennai Metro Rail,” the spokesperson added.
“Our apartment was engulfed by slurry that was four feet deep. Our clothes and other valuables including the washing machine and fridge was damaged,” said Taj while hitting out at Chennai Metro for failing to plug the borewell. “Last week, a similar incident happened. They should have double checked to ensure such a thing does not happen,” said Taj.
House owner Mohammed Yousuf denied the allegations that he had withheld information about the third borewell. “I had informed Metro Rail about the two borewells. Metro Rail officials did not take any measure to close it,” he alleged.
Taj has sought compensation for the damages caused to the fridge and washing machine as well as clothes and furniture.
“The mistake is on their part. They have to compensate us,” said the tenant. But Chennai Metro has ruled out any form of compensation.
“The owner withheld the information. The mistake is on his part,” said the spokesperson.