The inspection for a pending safety clearance that has stopped the tunnel-boring work of East-West Metro took place on Tuesday.

Pramod Kumar Acharya, commissioner of railway safety, east circle, Calcutta, conducted the survey to provide the statutory clearance required for a 280m stretch of the Howrah-Calcutta tunnel near Howrah station.

Work has stopped, in the absence of the clearance, barely 750m ahead of the point where the tunnel will touch the Hooghly riverbed.

The safety clearance is required as the tunnel will pass below railway tracks. The roof of the tunnel, sources said, will be 14-18m below the tracks.

Sources said the commissioner of railway safety (CRS) had pointed out some safety issues that should be addressed. "The CRS will issue a written communication on the findings of the survey. If any steps are needed to be taken to ensure safety of the tracks, it'll be done," a railway official said.

Till the safety clearance comes, work will remain suspended.

Metro had published a report stating that a giant boring machine, which burns about Rs 1.2 lakh worth of diesel daily, had been whirring continuously.

Afcons had started boring the first of the two tunnels from the Howrah Maidan side on April 21 and progressed barely 220m when work got stalled earlier this month. A workforce of about 250, including engineers from Europe deployed to oversee the tunnel-boring operation, has been idle since.

Last week, the CRS had informed about the survey to Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), the implementing agency for the project that aims to connect Salt Lake Sector V with Howrah Maidan.

Deshapriya Park puja

Cops on Tuesday questioned the Deshapriya Park Durgotsav committee members at Lalbazar, seeking this year's pandal details.

"The police are unwilling to allow us to let out stalls inside the park. Neither will they let us use the space on Motilal Nehru Road," one of the members said. "They have said they will monitor us at every step."