Passengers safety comes first, clarified Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) reacting on DNA's report on allegations made by former Monorail operator Larsen & Toubro and Malaysian Scomi Engineering (LTSE). LTSE had alleged that by terminating its contract abruptly, MMRDA had put public and system's safety at high risk.

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Defending itself in a series of tweets on its official Twitter account, Mumbai Monorail said, "Passengers safety comes first for Mumbai Monorail, and we are doing our best, be assured." Without naming any company, it added, "It's irony that people tend to believe unethical operators/agencies/companies, who were siphoning public money, and not the honest efforts of mmrda in making best efforts to not only run but also improve a sinking project! (sic)"

On Monday, DNA had reported about LTSE's allegations on how MMRDA does not have expertise over monorail technology. The consortium, whose contract was terminated by MMRDA in December 2018, alleged that by terminating their contract and taking over commercial operations of Mumbai Monorail, MMRDA has put the safety of the public and the overall system at high risk.

The MMRDA while terminating the contract of LTSE in December 2018 had cited a host of issues, including 'persistently disregarding instructions', failure to start the second phase and failure to supply the balance five trains. Currently, 10 trains are in India of which only four are functional.

However, LTSE had hit back at MMRDA saying that by taking over operations abruptly it had put public safety at risk. When DNA had asked a response from MMRDA on Sunday, its officials said that they did not remember seeing such a letter.

Meanwhile, the second phase of monorail got operational on March 4 this year while the first phase between Chembur and Wadala was operational in February 2014. The latter was in news for frequent breakdowns and technical glitches.