Barely 20 days after the 50-year-old Majerhat flyover collapsed in Kolkata, part of an under-construction bridge caved in Kakdwip area of South 24 Parganas district on Monday, a senior official said.
Barely 20 days after the 50-year-old Majerhat flyover collapsed in Kolkata, part of an under-construction bridge caved in Kakdwip area of South 24 Parganas district on Monday, a senior official said.
There has been no report of any casualty, South 24 Parganas district magistrate Y. Ratnakara Rao said.
"The incident happened on Monday morning. We are waiting for further details," the district magistrate said.
A team has been rushed to the spot to look into the incident, he said.
Locals allege that the bridge was being constructed for the last two years. “We have seen this bridge being constructed for the last two years. Even before the bridge became operational, we could see cracks appearing in the bridge and the pillars. There seems to be some faults in the maps too. We had informed the local authorities about the cracks, but they did not take any action,” said a local.
Interestingly, some children were playing in the vicinity where the bridge collapsed, however all of them escaped unhurt.
This is the third incident of bridge collapse in the state in September.
Majerhat Bridge in south Kolkata had collapsed on September 4, killing three persons and injuring 24.
On September 7, an old bridge had collapsed near Siliguri in north Bengal leaving a truck driver injured.
Earlier this month, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced that the Majerhat bridge will be completely demolished. She said that a new flyover will be constructed within a year.
The chief minister had blamed the PMD department for the poor upkeep and said there was negligence on the part of PWD officials in the bridge collapse. "They cannot avoid responsibilities," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.
After the collapse, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had ordered a probe headed by Chief Secretary Malay De. “Two of the labourers from ongoing Metro Rail work have been found. There is a possibility that 2-3 could have been killed. We will return tomorrow morning and go directly to the spot. We are videographing everything. If need be, there will be a forensic test. A high-level investigation will be carried out and whoever is found negligent will be punished,” Banerjee had said at the time of the accident.
(With agency inputs)
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 "Kakdwip Bridge Collapse")
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