Kolkata: Days after Majerhat Bridge mishap in Kolkata, another bridge over Pichla River in West Bengal’s Siliguri district caved in on Friday morning.
The incident took place at around 9 am when a loaded truck was crossing the bridge and it suddenly caved in. The truck is stuck in the middle of the broken portion of the bridge that connects Manganj area to Siliguri – one of the biggest business hubs in north Bengal.
Local people alleged that heavy vehicles are banned on Pichla River Bridge near Phansideba but the local administration did nothing to prevent vehicles from plying over the Bridge. “Not only truck, passenger buses also used to run through this bridge. The bridge is more than 40 years old but we have not seen any repairing work in this bridge in recent years,” Bonik Saha, a local village alleged.
A large contingent of police force and officers from the forensic science department reached the spot for inspection.
On Thursday, in wake of Majerhat Bridge mishap, Mamata held an emergency meeting and said that nearly 20 bridges in Kolkata and Howrah district were unsafe. She also announced a ban on heavy trucks on such bridges.
On September 4, around 4.40 pm a portion of Majerhat Bridge which connects Alipore with Taratala and Behala area collapsed. Three persons were killed, while 26 others suffered serious injuries in the incident.
This was the second biggest civic disaster in the recent past in Kolkata. Earlier in March 2016, a portion of the Vivekananda Road flyover (popularly known as Girish Park flyover) collapsed which claimed nearly 27 lives and left several others injured.
In last seven years – five concrete bridges have been collapsed in Bengal.
Comments
0 comment