Nilagiri: A major casualty was averted when one of the pillars of an under-construction bridge belonging to the Anandapur barrage project caved in Sunday. Locals alleged that the use of sub-standard materials had led to the collapse late Saturday night near Astia village in Shyamsundarpur panchayat of this block. They pointed out that if the pillar had caved in after the bridge had been opened, it could have resulted in serious tragedy.
Reports said that a total of six pillars are being constructed for the bridge over a canal near Astia village. Several workers working at the site had a close shave as the pillar caved in.
Notably, the bridge is being built at an expense of Rs 1,200 crore. The incident occurred when the workers were engaged in the construction of pillar number six. The Anandapur barrage project in Nilagiri sub-division of Balasore district aims at providing irrigation facilities to the farmers and helping in water conservation. After reports surfaced, Nilagiri MLA Sukant Kumar Nayak and local sarpanch Purusottam Sethy rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation, Sunday morning. The MLA alleged that the pillar collapsed as the company entrusted with construction was using inferior quality materials. He added that the company is also not following the standard operating procedure.
Nayak demanded that the Odisha government should order an immediate probe and then take action against the wrongdoers. He also said steps should be taken to avoid recurrence of such incidents in the future. Sethy meanwhile alleged that construction is not being carried out as per the estimate and requirements. He pointed out that construction is not being done in the day and work only happens at night. He pointed out that the concrete used for the construction of the pillar is being prepared somewhere else and added that neither the engineer nor any technician remains present at the site. Efforts to contact the departmental officials for their response failed to yield any results as they did not respond to repeated calls.