Delhi Metro bridge collapse: Sreedharan resigns as DMRC chief

Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan has announced his resignation owning moral responsibility for an accident at a construction site in Jamrudpur of south Delhi's Lajpat Nagar, which claimed five lives early on Sunday morning. Sreedharan, who turned 77 on 12th July 2009, announced his decision at a crowded press conference in New Delhi soon after his visit to the site of the collapse. "As the head of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, I take moral responsibility for the incident...So I have decided to resign and I have put in papers and I have sent it to Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit," he said. Asked whether his decision will delay the Metro projects which are scheduled to be completed before the Commonwealth Games, he said, "The views you are making may be correct but my personal conviction in this matter cannot be compromised."

Delhi Government said it was not for taking any hasty decision on the resignation of Sreedharan. Sreedharan took "full moral responsibility" of the incident which caused death of five persons, including an engineer and injured 15 others, in the second such incident in eight months. The accident took place as one of the pillars of the bridge gave in when a launcher was being erected close to Lady Sriram College in Dhamrudpur in Lajpat Nagar at around 5 am. Among the dead were four labourers and an engineer of Gammon India, the contractor for the project. The engineer has been identified as Anshuman while the names of the other deceased are yet to be released. The Delhi Metro attributed the accident to a "problem in the design" of the pillar. "We were trying to rectify it. There was a defect in the peer cap which caused the displacement," Dayal said. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit termed the incident as "unfortunate" and said a compensation package will be worked out in consultation with the Delhi Metro.