CHENNAI: A building owned by Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust on TP Scheme Road in Raja Annamalaipuram has developed multiple cracks after Chennai Metro Rail Limited’s tunnel boring operations began in December last year.
The building has been rented out to The Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Ltd (TNUIFSL) and Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation (TNIFMC). TNUIFSL is now preparing to shift its operations to the CMRL office in Nandanam due to the damage. TNIFMC is likely to move out as well.
The two-storey building comprises TNUIFSL office on the ground floor and TNIFMC office on the first floor. When TNIE visited the building, cracks were visible on the structure. A portion of the false ceiling had been torn apart for inspections.
PWD officials who inspected the building submitted a report in February stating that the ‘settlement failure’ of the building is “mainly due to the CMRL tunnel boring operations,” official sources confirmed to TNIE. The report also said it would not be ideal for the restoration of the building considering its age and that it would be best to find other alternatives.
The lateral movement of the sandy bed beneath the foundation is said to have disrupted the support of certain columns (in this case, the south east corner of the building) which resulted in a ‘settlement’ of the foundation, where one portion of the building settles down to a depth, causing cracks.
Official sources said he building showed the first signs of damage on the morning of December 12, a day after the tunnel boring machine passed below the building. The offices of TNUIFSL and TNIFMC had suffered damage to the interior fixtures.
The building was initially constructed around 1980s for a fisheries training institute, which then passed hands from the PWD to the Chennai Corporation and then to CRRT.
TNIE also visited other residential structures in the same road where some of them also alleged damage due to TBM operations. Construction workers at a new apartment in the street said the building suffered from cracks.
“We raised the issue and L&T staff (who bagged the CMRL contract) promptly came and fixed them after assessment. We have not faced any issues since then,” said a construction supervisor who was wrapping up the construction of the apartment.
Apart from this, a portion of the compound wall of the nearby Tholkappia Poonga also collapsed after the tunnelling work began, even as the facility is being redeveloped at a cost of Rs 42 crore. However, the staff said it is now being fixed.
When contacted, CMRL said that the cracks are mainly due to poor soil conditions.
“The main structural members are not affected due to CMRL works and the cracks are observed on the masonry walls which can be rectified,” an official said.