Within a month of the Majerhat bridge collapse in West Bengal, which claimed three lives, an under-construction bridge in South 24 Parganas district collapsed yesterday but no one was injured, officials said.
“Part of the under-construction bridge over Kalnagini river in Kakdwip area collapsed at around 10am today. No injuries have been reported,” a senior state police officer said.
The Sundarban Affairs Department, which implements developmental activities in the area, lodged an FIR against the construction company, holding it responsible for the collapse.
“The construction work of the bridge was partially leased out to SS Civil Construction Pvt Ltd. It is their ignorance that has caused the collapse. We have lodged an FIR against the company,” Minister for Sundarban Affairs Department Manturam Pakhira told IANS.
“Their workers removed the support structures from under three newly-constructed girders before they could set in without even informing our department engineers. This might have caused the bridge to topple,” he said.
The minister said that a committee comprising senior state engineers has been formed to look into the incident and promised those found guilty will not be spared.
“We have asked the committee to submit their report as soon as possible. We will also consult the civil engineering experts from Jadavpur University regarding the reconstruction of the bridge,” he added.
The construction of the bridge started in 2015 and was expected to be completed by 2021.
A portion of the Majerhat bridge in south Kolkata collapsed on September 4, killing three and injuring at least 19. Another canal bridge collapsed in Darjeeling district’s Siliguri on September 7, injuring a truck driver.
Onlookers stand near the under-construction bridge that collapsed in South 24 Parganas yesterday.
