Mason behind city’s metro rail stations

The mason from Gulburg, who has been working for nine years for Afcons, one of the contractors of CMRL, had his ‘D’ day when the underground stations and platforms he has been constructing came to life on Sunday morning. “Look, those fine edges of the platform were shaped by me,” he told his wife Renuka in colloquial Kannada as the second four car train from Tirumangalam whizzed past Anna Nagar station towards Nehru Park. 

“I have worked in almost all stations. Even last night (Saturday), all of us, even our supervisors and managers, polished the glass walls of the ticket counters at Thirumangalam station. I was in the station for at least 11 hours every day (including three hours of overtime), but I did not know that it would be so grand. I am glad that I brought my family for the inaugural ride,” added Siddhu flashing his employee ID card even as his six-year-old son vainly peeped through the glass window to catch a glimpse of the hollow tunnel. 

“This is our second ride. First time it was on the elevated corridor. Now, underground. Both are free rides. Otherwise, we cannot afford to spend so much on travel. We wanted to get a feel of the stations. He (Siddhu) made it possible,” Renuka said.

To cater to Chennai public in a better way, CMRL has announced that there would a 40 per cent discount on all metro rail tickets for one week from Monday. The move aims to popularise the services and also for the public to get a feel of the engineering marvel created by CMRL.