JOIN USFirm which built Kolkata flyover has 12 projects in Karnataka
Iragavarapu Venkata Reddy Construction Ltd (IVRCL), which is in the eye of the storm following the collapse of a flyover it was building in Kolkata that killed 24 people on Thursday, has undertaken 12 projects in Karnataka, including six metro stations in Bengaluru.
With the Kolkata tragedy, the IVRCL’s claim of being “committed to building a safe and sustainable world” has come under a cloud. However, the firm has performed without any stain on its reputation in Karnataka so far.
It built Halasuru, CMH Road, Old Madras Road, Baiyappanahalli, RV Road and Jayanagar metro stations. While the four are operational, the RV Road and Jayanagar stations await inauguration.
Dharma, an IVRCL executive in Bengaluru, said, “In the 30 years of its operations, the firm never came across an incident like the one in Kolkata. We had a track record of zero tragedies. This is an unfortunate incident and our investigations are going on.”
Besides metro projects, the IVRCL has taken up water supply, irrigation and a power project in Karnataka. These include Raw Water Transmission System from Forbes Balancing Reservoir to TK Halli under JICA-funded Project II of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), and water supply scheme for Hungund, Ilkal and Kushtagi towns and en route villages from Almatti dam under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns for the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board.
The firm has also undertaken the scheme to lift water from Kabini river near Alambur village to fill 20 tanks in Nanjangud, Chamarajanagar and Gundlupet taluks for drinking water purpose for the Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited. The company bagged the contract for Yettinahole and Bhadra modernisation projects for the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd. It is also working on the Off-site Civil Works Package for Kudgi Super Thermal Power Station Stage-I for the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC).
The IVRCL even bid for some Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) projects around seven years ago but the infamous “midnight tender” in the civic body cast its shadow on the entire tendering process and the firm could not get the contract, said a Palike chief engineer.
He said the performance of the firm in Karnataka had been satisfactory but calling the Kolkata tragedy an “act of God” was highly deplorable. “How can somebody shrug off their responsibility by calling a human tragedy an act of God?”