Won't quit until completion of Phase 2: Sreedharan

New Delhi, Jul 16: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation chief, E Sreedharan on Wednesday, Jul 16 said the crack in Pier 67 near Lady Shriram college in South Delhi was not responsible for the collapse of the Metro bridge.

Speaking to an interview, Sreedharan said, "We still don't know what exactly happened on Sunday. It is true that we saw the crack. We put a thin glass on it. That is the monitoring process - if the crack expands, the glass breaks. But the glass is still there. So, the accident was not due the crack. The failure is somewhere else."

When asked the cause for the collapse, he said, "I am still waiting to see what really went wrong. Being an experienced engineer, my own hunch is that there is a design deficiency on that particular pier. There could be a problem with the material, or reinforcement on site which led to the mishap."

Sreedharan also said, "The matter is being probed by a four-member committee. A separate audit has been ordered to check all the other such installations in Phase II to check the designs and drawings, material used in construction and the reinforcement done on site."

"But it collapsed under the weight of the launcher. I am a technical man and should have known better. How can I not own up responsibility? But I received support and confidence from the chief minister, the L-G and minister Jaipal Reddy. Even Rahul Gandhi rang up and asked me not to quit. Now I will stay till the end of Phase II, come what may. It is my commitment to the nation, he added

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