(Top) The Bali yatra welcome gate intact before mishap and (above) the gate without the mast that fell during a recent storm. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, April 25: The Cuttack Municipal Corporation today ordered a probe into a portion of the permanent Bali yatra welcome gate falling off during a storm, a day after it happened.

The inquiry has been ordered keeping in view concerns expressed over the quality of construction of the gate that was inaugurated barely seven months ago.

A youth was injured on the head when the top of the structure collapsed during the heavy rains that lashed the city on Wednesday evening.

“It is surprising that that even after spending so much on the construction of the permanent welcome gate, it could not withstand a single storm,” said Seikh Imran, a local resident.

“We have asked the executive and city engineer to conduct a detailed probe to find the exact reason behind the damage of the mast of the concrete structure of the welcome gate that was the replica of a boat,” said commissioner of the corporation Nihar Ranjan Mohapatra. He said the exact reason behind the incident could only be ascertained after the probe was complete.

“We have asked officials concerned to submit the report within 48 hours and the corporation would subsequently decide whether to immediately reinstall the mast or postpone it till Bali yatra,” he said.