Ranchi, June 20: T Road construction department (RCD) of Jharkhand has started a probe into the bridge collapse on Khunti-Simdega road into two parts on Thursday after heavy rains.
The department immediately started an investigation and many shocking facts have come to light in the preliminary report. The bridge was constructed in the year 2007 at a cost of Rs 1.27 crore and it was designed with the capacity to last for 100 years. But this bridge collapsed in just 18 years.
The departmental investigation revealed that the foundation of the bridge’s pillar should have been 19 meters deep, while the Measurement Book (MB) mentions only 13 meters. That is, a serious deficiency of 6 meters has been found in the foundation.
Executive Engineer of RCD Rameshwar Shah, after reviewing the documents of the construction done in 2007, said that probably the ‘hard layer’ was found in the excavation of 13 meters or some compromise was made in the construction. Whose responsibility was it? Officers under the scanner
The bridge was constructed under the supervision of executive engineer Dinesh Topno at that time. Assistant engineer Arvind Verma and junior engineer Dev Sahay Bhagat were also associated with the project. The construction work was done by Arvind Kumar Singh.
According to department sources, it is suspected that due to collusion between the officers and the contractor, the depth of the foundation was reduced, which weakened the structure and caused the accident.
Incidentally, in the year 2005, the single bridge built at the same place was washed away in strong currents. After this, a new bridge was constructed in 2007. The design for the construction of this 106 feet long bridge was prepared keeping in mind quality and long-term durability, but the reality proved to be different.
The Road Construction Department has said that the technical investigation committee is thoroughly reviewing the entire incident. On the basis of the preliminary report, there are clear signs of irregularities. The department says that if the investigation confirms the irregularities, strict action will be taken against the culprits.
