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Two months on, panel set up to probe Mahad tragedy

According to a state public works department (PWD) circular, the commission has been set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952.

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File photo of Navy and NDRF personnel at work following the tragedy in Mahad
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Two months after the Mahad bridge tragedy, Maharashtra government has set up a commission of inquiry headed by SK Shah. Shah is a retired justice of Bombay High Court. The commission will investigate the disaster and suggest recommendations to avert such incidents in future.

According to a state public works department (PWD) circular, the commission has been set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952.

On August 2, the bridge over Savitri river collapsed around midnight. This led to many people getting drowned as several buses and other vehicles were washed away by the flooded river. By an official estimate, at least 24 people died and 40 went missing. Built in 1928, the bridge's foundation was weakened by the strong currents caused due to constant heavy downpour in the catchment in Mahabaleshwar.

"The commission will probe the vehicles' pattern and the chronological reasoning behind plunging of vehicles into the river. It will study whether this tragedy happened due to human error or it was a natural calamity. It will investigate and verify the various details. If any technical person(s) of the government departments are responsible for the collapse of the bridge, then it will fix their responsibilities. And to avert such incidents, the commission can give various recommendations so that in future no such tragedy will take place," stated the circular, a copy of which is with dna.

It further reads that the commission has to also study various other factors that caused this grave incident. "The commission has to submit the report within the six months. The government will issue a separate notification to announce the honorariums," it said.

Reacting to the formation of the panel, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, "It shows the speed for the government, seriousness about work and people who lost their lives. This is very unfortunate that the incumbent government is a senseless government. Why was there a delay in setting up a commission? In these two months many crucial evidence might have flown under the bridge," Malik said.

A senior government official who is privy to this development said that there are several PWD officials who inspected the bridge a few days before the tragedy. These officials gave the report that there was no issue with the structure.

"The government should have suspended the people who conducted the inspection. Now, it shows that the government wants to shield these culprits. Therefore, there has been a delay in setting up the inquiry commission," Malik added.

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