write a report on a bridge collaps 25 people killed and 36 injured
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By Madhuparna Das, ET BureauSep 05, 2018, 07:13 AM IST5
Kolkata: A section of the Majherhat bridge in south Kolkata collapsed on Tuesday evening killing one and leaving around 25 people injured.
Several red flags were raised over a crack that had appeared on a pillar of the bridge. Of the several complaints that had reached the state Public Works Department (PWD) department regarding the bridge, the latest one was raised around six months ago, claimed locals.
The bridge also has a history of a portion caving in around 17 years ago, which was rebuilt by the state PWD department, said Khsiti Goswami, who was the PWD minister of the CPM-led Left Font government.
In two years, this is the second incident when a bridge collapsed during busy hours in the city. In March 2016, an under-construction flyover in north Kolkata collapsed killing at least 27 people.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Darjeeling on an administrative tour said, “There will be a detailed investigation into it. But our first priority is rescue operation. There will be a high-power committee led by chief secretary that will probe into the negligence and other issues.
We generally monitor the bridges in every six months and take corrective measures. We need to find out what went wrong in this case. But now our focus is on the rescue operation. It is a serious negligence and strict action will be taken,” said Banerjee.
The bridge, which connects constituencies of three ministers state PWD minister Arup Biswas, state urban development minister Firhad Hakim and state education minister Partha Chatterjee, has suburban rail tracks under it.
Hakim, who visited the spot claimed that the bridge was built 40 years ago by Kolkata Port Trust (KopT). However, in a statement, KoPT said, “KoPT does not have any records of Majherhat Bridge been built by Kolkata port.”
CPM MP Mohammed Salim, who resides near the bridge, said, “ In last one year several times, the locals several times complained of the cracks showing on the pillars. A team of engineers also visited the spot.
But the repairing work never started. With the party running the government, I guess, funds were also allocated and spent on paper for the bridge. This is a sorry state of affair.”
Union home minister Rajnath Singh called Banerjee and offered all sorts of assistance to the state government. Four teams of National Disaster Response Force were also pressed into action.