Guwahati, May 6: A bridge being constructed on National Highway 37 on the outskirts here collapsed this morning triggering protests by various organisations and the demand for an inquiry into the incident.
Sources said a portion of the RCC bridge, being constructed over the Digaru near Sonapur on the outskirts here, collapsed in three phases - first after midnight, then around 3am and the third part around 6 this morning.
Work on the bridge, being built at a cost of around Rs 1.66 crore, was on for the last eight years. The bridge was to be thrown open to vehicular traffic in September. KMC Limited, Hyderabad, was working on widening and strengthening of the NH 37 from Dharamtul to Sonapur in Assam as part of the East-West Corridor project while RITES Limited, a central government undertaking specialising in the field of transport infrastructure, was supervising the project.
Various organisations alleged that the bridge collapsed because of the use of low quality material putting the role of RITES under the scanner since it was the supervision consultant.
In Assam, RITES has been associated with scores of projects such as pre-construction studies of Bogibeel Bridge in Dibrugarh, detailed engineering studies for Koliabhumura Setu near Tezpur and feasibility and detailed project report for the Naranarayan Setu near Goalpara.
Assam and central government officials associated with infrastructure construction in the state said the collapse apparently reflected "deficiency in supervision".
Senior state government officials said they would not like to comment on the development since it was a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) project.
NHAI sources, in their guarded reactions, said details have been sought from the site and based on it action will be initiated. "Delhi has been kept in the loop," one of them said. The sources said it was an ongoing project and there was no disruption in traffic or injury to anyone. "Still we will look into all aspects of the collapse," another source said.
A RITES official attributed the collapse to the recent 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Nepal, whose aftershocks also jolted Assam.
He said the earthquake had displaced some critical portions of the bridge, which ultimately resulted in the collapse. He refuted the allegation of using low quality materials and said an expert team will look into the matter tomorrow.
However, locals protested the collapse, seeking action against those responsible for the criminal waste of state resources. They said it was time that local builders/contractors were developed instead of depending on outstation companies.
Locals said if the incident had occurred later in the day when people go for fishing or some other works near the bridge, they would have been killed or seriously injured. "We are lucky it collapsed early in the morning and before it was opened to traffic," one of them said.
Members of organisations like Asom Sangrami Yuva Chatra Santha, Amri Karbi Students' Union, Tribal Sangha, Dimoria unit of the All Assam Students' Union and All Tiwa Students' Union rushed to the site and demanded a high-level probe into the incident.
They demanded that everybody associated with construction of the bridge be brought under the probe.
They demanded to blacklist KMC Limited and restart construction of the bridge by some efficient companies. Officials of the company could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
"Low quality material was used in the construction of the bridge. We want a thorough probe into the incident and blacklisting of KMC Limited," said Dibyajyoti Medhi, an AASU leader.
The organisations said the construction company had blocked the natural flow of the Digaru, which might have led to the collapse.
