KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that she has given the go-ahead to resume work along Diamond Harbour Road for the 16.75km Joka-BBD Metro corridor, but neither Metro Railway nor Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) have yet received any such instruction from police or state authorities.Work, undertaken by RVNL, was suspended after a portion of the Majerhat Bridge collapsed on September 4.On Tuesday, Banerjee said in Frankfurt, Germany, that Metro Railway can restart work on the Joka-BBD Bag Metro corridor. "We had asked Metro Railway to stop work till forensic examinations were completed. We had also stopped all work by state agencies for seven days so as to not interfere with the forensic department's findings. Metro Railway can restart the work now. We will grant them permission to do so," the chief minister said.Metro Railway and RVNL officials, however, maintained that they had not received any permission from the authorities. "Any interruption of work results in delays that get compounded. We were trying to get as much work done as possible before Durga Puja, when full-fledged construction will not be possible. Though we had no role to play in the whole episode, we abided by the decision of the state's administrative head and suspended work. We need to restart as soon as possible. The police are continuing to seek material from us even after we made it very clear that our piling work had nothing to do with the collapse," said a senior RVNL official.After reaching Kolkata from Darjeeling, a day after the bridge collapsed, the chief minister had said that damage to the portion of the bridge was possible due to vibrations that occurred during Metro piling. Metro Railway and RVNL immediately countered this and stated that piling work at the Majerhat Metro station had been completed more than one-and-a-half-months ago. They claimed the collapse was the result of mid-span girder failure.A few days later, after several experts opined that Metro construction may not have had anything to do with the collapse, the chief minister had said that the Metro's involvement couldn't be totally ruled out. On Tuesday, she said that after resuming work, Metro Railway should be careful not to cause any impact on work for a new bridge at Majerhat."Similarly, we will also ensure that construction of the new bridge does not impact the Metro project in any way. This project was my idea when I was railway minister. I know how important this project is and also want it to progress fast. People will benefit a lot once the Metro project is completed," Banerjee added in Frankfurt.Another RVNL official said it would be a matter of great relief if permission was granted to resume work. If there is too much delay, the construction companies associated with the work get worried about incurring losses as workers have to be paid without any work getting done.

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