BENGALURU: Metro Rail operations on the Purple Line between Baiyappanahalli and Nayandahalli could have been pulverised any time in the 21-day period between May 15 and June 5 due to a glaring lack of security.
A whopping 1.225 tonnes of copper wires, valued at Rs 5 lakh and installed for earthing on the ‘third rail’ that electrically powers the Metro Rail, was found removed and missing — basically stolen.
Earthing is crucial to protect not only the system but also human life as it provides an alternative path for dangerous currents to flow so that accidents due to electric shock and damage to the equipment can be avoided. With copper, totally 490 metres in length, missing, the entire electrical system powering the trains on the line could have been destroyed, halting Namma Metro services for long hours until repaired.
KVST Raju, the BMRCL engineer who filed the complaint, told the police that 257 metres of copper conductor installed in the upline and 233 metres installed in the downline (totally 490 metres) had been stolen between May 15 and June 5. May 15 was the last confirmed report of the copper being in place.
The theft came to light only on June 5 and was detected, not by the track maintenance workers who are supposed to keep a check on it daily, but by a loco-pilot at the controls of a train moving between Baiyappanahalli and Swami Vivekananda stations.