Bhubaneswar, April 5: Criminals today burnt thousands of bio bags carrying sand to protect the bridge over the railway tracks at Samajajpur in Puri district, 50km from here.

The incident has raised questions about the safety of the bridge constructed for Rs 30 crore and thrown open to public in 2015, just few days ahead of the Nabakalebara, to ease the flow of traffic between Bhubaneswar and Puri. With the burning of bio bags, there is a chance that the approach road connecting to the bridge will subside.

Regional officer, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Dharmananda Sarangi said: "We are already in touch with the consultant and the contractor concerned to ascertain what could be done to undo the damage."

Inspector in-charge Chandanpur police station Jaideep Mohanty said: "The NHAI never asked us to provide security to the bridge. We had also never thought that such a situation would crop up. Action would be taken as per the law."

Officials, however, are taking all efforts to repair the bridge before the upcoming rath yatra. Earlier, the overbridge had a structural problem and a part of the bridge caved in following loosening of the soil. However, later it was repaired.

In another development, Puri district administration today took over a part of the encroached land belonging to Swargadwar.

"Demolition work has already begun near Swargadwar. We are hopeful to retrieve a few more decimal of land," said a senior official of the Puri district administration.

Swargadwar had more than 16 acre of land, but it has shrunk to one acre as land grabbers have systematically encroached upon over the years.