Anandapur: Keonjhar denizens apprehend the collapse of a bridge near Anandapur area on the Baitarani river. The bridge is regarded as a lifeline of the district. However, it is on the verge of collapse as three of its spans have gone down recently, a report said.
Worthy to note, repairing of the bridge was earlier done in July 2019 at an expenditure of Rs 39 lakh. After the recent incident came to the fore, a team of technical experts from the Anandapur Works Department inspected the bridge and warned that it is in danger.
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“One of the spans, which has gone down was provided support with the help of wooden blocks by the department last Wednesday. The heights of the spans are 57 metres each and affected ones will be repaired soon. The spans were broken because of excessive movement of heavy vehicles on the bridge,” assistant executive engineer of Keonjhar Works Department, Sameer Kumar Adhikary informed.
After discussing the matter with the District Collector Ashish Thakare and local administration officials, information signages have been put up at both sides of the bridge to restrict the movement of heavy vehicles. Chances are that the bridge could get damaged further if movement is not restricted, Adhikary expressed.
Fresh estimation will be done for complete repair of the bridge soon. The department high-ups have been communicated on the need of a new bridge here, as an alternative for connectivity, Adhikary added.
Notably, this bridge on the river Baitarani connects national highway (NH-53) with NH-20 in the region, but has been facing structural threat times and again. Safety of lives and properties of local commuters are at stake, Keonjhar intelligentsia opined.
PNN