A Turkish company named Gulermak, which was working on the underground part of the Kanpur metro project, has reportedly left the city without paying its dues. The company owes around Rs 80 crore to 53 contractors, who say they haven’t been paid for nearly 10 months.

Contractors claim that Gulermak stopped payments after protests began over Turkey’s involvement in the India-Pakistan war. They also said that all senior officials of the company have now left Kanpur. When the contractors tried to contact them over the phone, they didn’t give clear answers and avoided the matter.

The contractors had earlier complained to officials at the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC), but no action was taken. As a result, nine of the affected contractors went to the District Magistrate’s (DM) office and submitted a written complaint, seeking help in getting their pending payments.

Contractors working on the Kanpur Metro project have claimed that their payments were delayed after protests against Turkey’s role in the Indo-Pak war. The underground section of the metro was handled by a joint venture between Indian company Sam India and Turkish firm Gulermak. Gulermak had given work to 53 smaller firms. According to the contractors, the company got the work done but did not pay the full amount. 

Instead, it made only small part-payments and kept a large sum pending. Out of these 53 contractors, representatives from nine companies went to the District Magistrate’s office and submitted a complaint. They demanded the release of pending payments, including ₹3.70 crore for Metro Marble, ₹1.20 crore for Radiant Services, ₹1.70 crores for Shreyans Infratech, ₹74.80 lakh for S Interior, ₹39.80 lakh for MD Ehasan Painter, ₹8.54 lakh for Vinod Gupta Enterprises, ₹29.50 lakh for Nandan Prefab, and ₹21.50 lakh for another firm. The contractors are now requesting help from the authorities to recover their dues.

Radiant firm contractor Gajendra Singh said that only half of the total payment has been given to the companies so far. Panchanan Mishra, who handles Public Relations at the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC), told India Today that Gulermak completed work on four metro stations in Kanpur as part of a joint project. After the work was done, UPMRC paid Gulermak in full. The unpaid contractors, he said, were hired by Gulermak as sub-contractors.

He also said that UPMRC has kept 5% of the contract money aside, which is normally paid after one year. But if Gulermak doesn't pay the contractors, the metro authority might release this money to help clear the dues.