Metro’s phase II project piling work begins in Porur
The Hindu
The first line on this phase to be ready in four years
The Chennai Metro Rail phase II project has picked up some pace with the initial work being taken up on the underground and elevated stretches. The phase II project is for 118.9 km with three corridors — Madhavaram-Shollinganallur, Madhavaram-SIPCOT and Light House-Poonamallee — will be built at an estimated cost of ₹61,843 crore over eight years. According to sources in Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL), the piling work has started between Poonamallee and Porur which will be an elevated section and the first part of the phase II project was expected to be opened to public in four years. “A few weeks ago, the contractor — a joint venture between Hindustan Construction Company and KEC International Ltd. — started the test piling work in one location and the piling work has begun along this stretch in places like Porur bypass, Iyyappanthangal and Poonamallee. Barricades have been placed in places for the piling work and some of the equipment and the piling rigs too were brought in last week,” an official said.Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.