Bhubaneswar, Sept. 25: Two engineers were arrested in connection with the bridge collapse near Bheden in Bargarh district yesterday that injured five persons.
The construction of nine-span high-level bridge as part of the Biju Setu Yojana was almost complete. The mishap took place when the casting work was under way.
'We have placed executive engineer Amulya Mohapatra, along with the assistant executive engineer Kamalakanta Taria and the junior engineer Manoranjan Mohapatra, under suspension for dereliction of duty, while Taria and Mohapatra have been arrested. The contractor will be blacklisted for the lapses,' said rural development secretary Bishnupada Sethi today.
Sethi said the government ordered a probe into the incident and chief engineer of rural development department Bharat Chandra Pradhan had inspected the site. 'Stringent action will be taken against those found guilty in the probe. Criminal proceedings will be initiated if any neglect is found,' he added.
Pradhan, who visited the site and collected samples of construction materials, said: 'There has been allegations of sub-standard quality of work. I have collected the samples of the construction materials. It will be probed whether good quality construction materials, including iron rods, was used in the project.'
Local residents today expressed their resentment during the chief engineer's visit. Former MLA Nihar Mahananda alleged that the contractor was responsible for the sub-standard work and the engineers in charge of the project had taken commission for the work. He demanded that the under-construction bridge be declared unsafe and fresh tender should be invited.
Ruling BJD MP Baijayant 'Jay' Panda also expressed concern in a tweet over the frequent bridge collapses across the state and demanded constitution of a task force to examine all under- construction and recently constructed bridges and flyovers in the state.
The Bargarh mishap took place barely 15 days after an under-construction flyover collapsed at Bomikhal in Bhubaneswar killing one person and injuring twelve. The incident is being probed and the cops have made a few arrests in the case.