As rescue operations continue after the Majerhat bridge collapsed on Tuesday, opposition leaders, led by the BJP, blamed the state government and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Despite the criticisms, the West Bengal government has remained in denial, saying that the port trust was responsible for the bridge’s construction, something that the body has denied. However, documents accessed by Zee News shows that the bridge was under the jurisdiction of the state public works department.
The document says that tenders were floated for the repairs of the bridge and a notice inviting bidders had also been issued in April 2018.
The state government had allocated Rs 2.81 crore to repair and refurbishing of the bridge. Work was scheduled to begin last month and was to be completed within 6-7 months from the date of commencement. Of this, Rs 16.18 lakh was tender money.
The state PWD had issued the tenders on April 16, 2018 where the executive engineer, Alipore Division had called for work on three flyovers in the city - the Taratala flyover, Majerhat Bridge, and the DH Road Bridge. The work included road work, bridge work, building work, sanitary and plumbing work, electrical work, and/or any other work and ambit of this contract.
In 2016, a bridge collapsed in Posta and a number of questions were raised on who maintains the bridge.
Earlier, at least one was killed and 31 other injured after the Majerhat bridge in the crowded Alipore area caved in around 4.45 pm on Tuesday during rush hour. It runs over the Majerhat Railway Station and connects the city centre with the heavily populated Behala, the vast area of the south west suburbs and neighbouring South 24 Parganas district. Police confirmed the death of one person and said 21 others, including three women were injured.
With Inputs from Kamalika Sengupta
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