UK firm asked to give details on design problem of bridge which collapsed before C'Wealth Games

The British firm Macalloy, which had supplied the steel frame of the collapsed foot overbridge outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, has been asked by Delhi government to provide details about deficiencies in design of the structure which the company claimed it was aware about.

A day after a committee that probed the collapse of the bridge submitted its report, chief secretary Rakesh Mehta said the firm has been told to provide its views soon so that government can have a clear picture of the incident.

"The company has been asked to come here and present its views," Mehta said replying to queries on the probe report into the collapse.

Besides holding Public Works Department (PWD) responsible for supervisory failure and the contractor for faulty construction method, the committee blamed Macalloy for not giving information about deficiencies in design parameters although the company knew about it.

The design of the bridge was prepared by PWD-appointed Tandon Consultants and Macalloy fabricated the frame based on the design provided to it by the consultant.

Mehta said the company was told to come and present its views immediately after the incident on September 21 but it did not heed to the request. The probe panel also said that the company when asked to clarify why it did not inform about the deficiency when it knew about it in April.

Macalloy had said after the incident that they felt "the orientation of the gusset plate are in the wrong plane."

However, no such observations were made by them when the drawings were forwarded to them in April, 2010 by the contractor for fabrication of the system, the probe panel said in the report.

Promising action against anyone found guilty by the panel, Mehta said government was still studying the report.

"We are examining the report...Action is always taken whenever somebody is found to be involved in any deficiency," he said.

The collapse of the 95-metre-long under-construction bridge, just days before the mega sporting event, had caused major embarrassment to the organisers. Twenty-seven labourers were injured in the incident.

The two-member panel, which submitted its report yesterday, blamed the faulty construction methodology adopted by private firm P and R Infraprojects Ltd and held PWD responsible for supervisory failure.

"The report has mainly pointed out three things — the change in the original design, supervisory issues and time factor (the fact that the project was being implemented in a great hurry," Mehta said.

The committee has also recommended to the government that Macalloy bars may not be used for its similar projects.

Another top official said although PWD has been blamed for "supervisory failure", actually the project was overseen by engineers from teh Central Public Works Department (CPWD) who served in the PWD on deputation during the Games. The CPWD functions under union urban development ministry.

"We will send the report to CPWD for action against those responsible for supervisory failure," he said.

In its report, the committee, headed by former CPWD director general HS Dogra, said the method of construction adopted by the contractor was not proper as it devised procedure on its own without taking any necessary approval.

The probe panel said the collapse took place "because of failure of the joint of Macalloy suspender bars which had been prescribed as part of the design for suspension of the deck of the FOB with the main arch."