 |
| The 50-year-old Distillery Bridge near Birsa Samadhi Sthal in Kokar, Ranchi, that caved-in partly after heavy rain on Sunday. Picture by Hardeep Singh |
Ranchi, Aug. 7: A two-metre-wide gaping hole appeared on the 50-year-old Distillery Bridge last night following incessant rains in the capital.
The bridge over the Kokar rivulet that connects the capital to the Kokar industrial area and NH-33, was last repaired at a cost of Rs 10 lakh in 2006. According to road construction department officials, the bridge was in poor shape and repairs would have been taken up even if last night’s damage had not occurred.
This morning, local residents noticed the gap and informed sub-divisional magistrate Shekhar Jamuar immediately.
Though traffic movement was not disrupted, the missing portion remained a threat at night as it was big enough for a vehicle to fall through.
Confirming the damage, Jamuar said he had directed executive engineer of the road construction department (Ranchi division) Umesh Singh to immediately carry out repairs on the vital link.
Jamuar said the damage did not really come as a surprise for the department, which had planned to carry out extensive repairs on the bridge anyway. “The department had anticipated trouble and had already finalised a budget for repairs. However, before work could start, the damage was done,” he said.
When contacted, Singh said repairs would start within a week.
“We surveyed the spot and found that the portion that had given way had weakened the side wall. While repairs will start within a week, till then a board will be in place to warn drivers about the damaged stretch,” he said.
When it was pointed out to Singh that the bridge was repaired barely five years ago and whether sub-standard work could have led to last night’s incident, the executive engineer chose not to comment by insisting that he did not remember anything about the bridge.
The bridge is used by over 50,000 people daily to commute between the capital and the industrial area. More than 200 heavy vehicles use it on an everyday basis as well.
The bridge is of special significance as tribal icon Birsa Munda’s last rites were carried out next to it in 1900 after he died in jail.
Recognising the importance of the spot, the state government developed the Birsa Samadhi Sthal at the place. There are water pipes running beneath the bridge and a tap on one side is used by more than 500 vendors everyday to collect water for their use.
On June 12, the bridge on the Dhurwa river, connecting Jasidih with Deoghar, had collapsed following heavy rain.