URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE Delhi's woes Delhi airport chaos as radar breaks down Hindustan Times, 09 Dec 2007 Air Traffic Control (ATC) radar failure led to about 40 flights being delayed, creating a backlog that led to acute congestion in the air and serious safety concerns. The problem started when one of the three radars of the ATC started malfunctioning. It took 45 minutes to fix it, but that was enough to throw the entire air traffic to and from IGI airport off gear. Two international flights were also delayed for four hours. The Director-General of Civil Aviation asked all aircraft to carry extra fuel. The reason: they might have to hover above the airport as runways were clogged. “The radar failure could have led to mishaps in the air. The failure of the service radar meant that position of the aircraft could not be displayed on the screen and ATC officials could not have alerted pilots about any untoward situation immediately. The officials could communicate only through radio signals,” said a senior airport official. Airport officials said that after the service radar tripped, there was a backlog of about six hours at the airport and mostly the flights operating from the domestic terminal were hit. The backlog could not be cleared till late Saturday evening. Almost all airlines suffered a delay of one-two hours. Delhi flyover falls IANS 24 June 2008 A portion of a flyover near the district centre in Janakpuri in west Delhi built only six years ago has fallen apart, disrupting road traffic. The damage was first noticed Monday evening when an eight-feet long and four-feet wide portion of concrete collapsed, exposing the iron inside. The traffic police then stopped traffic on the flyover. Repairs have started and are expected to last at least a week, a municipal corporation official said. The flyover was constructed in 2002 and is presently under a 10-year defect liability period with the Uttar Pradesh Bridge Corp Ltd. The company is liable for its repair and maintenance during this period. Delhi Metro bridge collapses The Hindu/PTI  19 Oct 2008 A mechanical fault caused the collapse of an under-construction bridge of the Delhi Metro here, the DMRC said. The accident took place at Vikas Marg in Lakshmi Nagar area of east Delhi when workers were lifting concrete segments of the bridge using a "launcher". "It was the 11th segment in the stretch which collapsed while being lifted...Prima facie, it appears that the some mechanical item of the launcher might have given way," DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal told reporters. He said the launcher belonged to Afcons, the private firm which was executing the work on contract. The company has been working with the Metro for the last one year doing similar jobs. The DMRC has seized all records of Afcons and sealed its site inspection office. Frontline magazine (vol 26, 01 Aug 2009) commented: The much-celebrated Metro Railway of Delhi has been in the news since mid-July, this time for the wrong reasons. After accidents on two consecutive days, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials had a hard time explaining to the media and the political community how they happened. On July 12, a launching girder came crashing down in Zamrudpur near a posh South Delhi location on the elevated Central Secretariat-Badarpur line, killing six workers and leaving around 20 people injured. The next day, three cranes clearing the debris of the first accident crashed, leaving six people injured. In October 2008, a metro bridge collapsed in the Laxmi Nagar area of East Delhi, killing two people and injuring many. As the national capital prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010, there are fears that the rush to meet deadlines before the event is causing safety lapses that lead to such accidents. E. Sreedharan, DMRC Chairman, who is associated with the success of the project and is something of a middle-class icon, resigned after the latest mishap. Though the resignation was not accepted, it came as a shock and enhanced the impact of the accident in the public mind. Sreedharan, who visited the accident site, said the mishap came as a big jolt to him as it was much bigger in proportion than the accident in Laxmi Nagar. “I am not directly responsible [for this], but as the head of the organisation I have to take moral responsibility,” he said. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, however, rejected his resignation, and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi persuaded him to continue in his post. Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna and Union Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy also asked him to stay on