Kendrapara: Hundreds of residents Wednesday morning demanded Vigilance enquiry into the Mantei Bridge collapse Tuesday noon that was being built at an estimated cost of Rs 3 crore under Biju Setu Yojana (BSY) at a place on Asrunkhala canal of Antei panchayat under Marshaghai block in Kendrapara district.
“The ambitious project being built at an estimated cost of Rs 3 crore could not sustain a few days due to low-quality of work,” irate locals alleged while ventilating their resentments.
Roof of the first span in the four-spanned under-construction bridge was casted recently. Centering made on Spanner No-2 of the bridge went down and caved in to the canal leading to the collapse.
Luckily, the workers engaged in the construction work had a close shave. The incident has exposed the inefficiency of the department officials, locals further added.
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Besides, the mishap has triggered public outrage. Locals had earlier brought the issue to the knowledge of departmental officials in writing that low quality of cements and iron rods were being used in the construction work and not being supervised properly.
However, no improvement was brought in the work, they added.
Villagers namely Rabindra Kumar Mohapatra, Ashok Kumar Rout, Kamalakanta Sutar including many others said, “Foundation stone for the bridge was laid December 12, 2016. Due to neglect of the department officials, the construction work could proceed a little. After local residents demanded for an early execution of the work, it was taken up later. After completion, Mantei bridge would have directly connected Balighai, Nuapada, Manikapur and Batira villages in the region, thereby facilitating better road communication.”
On being contacted, Kendrapara District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) Executive Engineer Ajit Kumar Sahu said, “We had taken all possible precautions in the construction work. However, we are probing into the collapse incident to find out fault, if any.”
The Mantei bridge construction work will resume soon, Sahu stated.
Worth mentioning, Mantei Bridge was targeted to benefit over 30,000 people in the area.
PNN