Midnapore, Oct. 6: The sea resort at Digha and the industrial town of Haldia remained cut off from Calcutta and adjacent districts after parts of a bridge in East Midnapore gave way this morning.

The 50-year-old bridge on the now-defunct Midnapore Tidal Canal near Kolaghat thermal power station, around 60 km from Calcutta, falls on the Tamluk-Haldia section of National Highway 41.

As many as 5,000 heavy vehicles, including trucks and buses, ply on the bridge, which was built placing two concrete slabs side by side.

Around 2.30 am, one of the slabs broke loose and fell into the canal bed. The bridge is 25 feet long and 12 feet wide.

Immediately, the movement of trucks and buses was stalled on both sides of the bridge. The traffic on the highway came to a halt and remained so throughout the day.

The bridge collapse also led to heavy traffic congestion on NH 6 (better known as Bombay Road).

Tamluk, the administrative headquarters of East Midnapore, Haldia and Digha were virtually cut off from Calcutta. About 8,000 tourists visit Digha daily around this time.

District officials said this evening that tourists to Digha and people bound for the Haldia industrial belt are being routed to their destinations through Panskura. They have to travel an extra 40 km for this roundabout journey.

“We have constructed two makeshift approach roads over the canal and small vehicles have been passing over them since 2 pm today. We hope heavy vehicles will be able to cross the canal by late tonight,” said district magistrate of East Midnapore R. Ranjeet.

East Midnapore zilla sabhadhipati Niranjan Shi held the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) responsible for the collapse. “The mishap occurred because of the NHAI’s inefficiency. The work to widen and expand NH 41 has been stalled for the past three years. The bridge was 50 years old and took a heavy load. But no maintenance work was carried out for the last three years. The NHAI is solely responsible for the trouble the collapse is causing to the people.”

NHAI project director Partha Sarathi Sengupta, who is in charge of the extension work on the highway, said: “The work will begin right after the Pujas. We will rebuild the bridge. Meanwhile, we are filling up a portion of the bridge and constructing temporary roads.”

Shi alleged that the NHAI selected a private company for the expansion work, which failed to carry out the task. “We have written to the chief secretary, Amit Kiran Deb, informing him of the bridge collapse,” he said.