FLYOVER: PROGRESS REPORT & MISHAPS

Bhubaneswar: A person died on the spot when a retaining wall of the under-construction Bomikhal railway overbridge collapsed on them around 10pm on Thursday.

The deceased has been identified as Ajay Bhumich, 38, a native of Sundargarh. He was a construction worker deployed at the bridge site. The incident occurred at the work site near Maa Santoshi Temple when the workers were about to leave the site after finishing day's work.

Fire service personnel, police and local residents rushed to the spot to rescue the workers after the crash. However, Bhumich, who was hit hard by the wall, died on the spot. His co-worker Anand Nayek was rescued from under the debris and was rushed to Capital Hospital. Later, he was referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack as his condition deteriorated.

Nayek, 23, is also a resident of Sundargarh. A doctor treating him at SCB termed his condition to be critical. He has suffered grievous injuries mainly in his spinal chord.

Public works department sources said the retaining wall, which is a structure that holds or retains soil behind it, about 10 feet in length and eight feet in height, collapsed due to unseasonal rain that lashed the city on Wednesday night.

"Rainwater remained clogged right under the partially constructed retain wall. We pumped it out, but it had already made the base loose and the wall collapsed as a result," said an official.

Laxmi Sagar police have registered a case of negligence by the contractor at the work site and arrested managing director of project executor Panda Infra Pvt Ltd Pratap Kishor Panda on Friday.

Police commissioner Y.B. Khurania also rushed to the accident spot late on Thursday night. "We will bring those involved in the construction to book. No one will be spared," he said.

It is not the first time that this overbridge claimed a life. In September 10 last year, a 10-feet wide slab of the bridge collapsed and killed one person, while leaving several injured. Poor material used in the construction was found to be the reason behind the incident at that time. Panda was arrested then as well and the government had blacklisted his firm.

Work on the bridge had come to a halt for about two months at that time. But, the work resumed again in November last year. The same contractor was assigned to complete the overbridge in Bomikhal.

"The company was blacklisted to ensure that it could not take up any new project. But according to the agreement, it could not opt out of the projects it had already taken up," said a senior official of works department.

The public works department and the East Coast Railway had decided to construct the railway overbridge in Saheed Nagar in 2008-09 and started working on the project in 2012-13. The bridge was supposed to be ready by 2016-17. But the project had got delayed due to delay in land acquisition and deviation in the original plan. The delay also resulted in cost escalation of the project from Rs 14 crore to Rs 28 crore.

The bridge was originally planned to connect people from Rasulgarh to Saheed Nagar via the railway crossing. Later, an extension was planned towards the Bomikhal side.

THREE-WAY CONNECT

The flyover will open a three-way traffic connecting for people coming from Rasulgarh to Bomikhal via Saheed Nagar.
The bridge on the busy
Puri-Cuttack state highway will save time

PAST IMPERFECT

• Sept. 23, 2011: A three-foot long slab falls from Jayadev Vihar flyover, none hurt
• July 31, 2013: Iron plate falls from Fire Station Square flyover, one killed
• Sept. 3, 2014: Labourer dies when slab falls from Rasulgarh Square flyover.

• 2008-09: Works dept. & East Coast Railway ink deal for project
• 2012-13: Work starts on rail overbridge
• 2015-16: First deadline expires; bridge extension at Bomikhal side planned
• 2016-17: Second deadline ends
• Sept. 10, 2017: Ten meters wide slab falls, kills one. Govt suspends three engineers for negligence. Two top executives of Panda Infra arrested
• Oct. 10, 2017: Govt blacklists Panda Infra Pvt Ltd
• Nov. 12, 2017: Work resumes after two months under same contractor
• May 3, 2018: Retention wall collapses, one dead

Text by Sandeep Mishra