Ghatkopar metro station fire raises queries of safety

A minor fire broke out at the Ghatkopar Metro station on Monday evening raising questions of how safe commuters will be once the Versova-Andheri- Ghatkopar metro system is opened for public use.

"There was a short circuit in the cable of an escalator at Ghatkopar Metro atation around 4.15pm. It was doused by the metro rail staff within 10 minutes. Only one of our fire tender was sent, which did cooling operations after removing the main fuse," informed a fire officer.

However, a spokesperson of Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) had a different version. "It was a minor incident involving only smoke generated due to welding work at the lift shaft during construction activity; no fire reported; the state-of-the-art fire alarm system installed at the metro system got activated which is designed to capture the minutest of the smoke. As part of our stringent Disaster Management Plan, the Fire Brigade was called in as a routine stand-by procedure which is also in line with the international standard. This incident is extremely minor and has no impact on project."

It is estimated that Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro rail service will have a ridership of seven lakh in the first year after it is commissioned.

In a statement issued on Monday, the MMOPL claimed that safety of guests is of paramount importance and the system has been planned to be "most safe" under all possible conditions. The spokesperson added that officials visited and studied metro rail projects around the world. "The idea was to learn and introduce the best practices," he said.