Balasore: People residing in Mayurbhanj and Balasore district were upset after a portion of an under-construction bridge over river Budhabalanaga caved in Sunday.
The bridge was built at a cost of Rs 8.5 cr and it helped people cross the river without any problems and what disturbed the people was the collapse of the bridge before its inauguration. The residents here who attributed the bridge collapse to low quality work have demanded action against the contractor and the company that had built the bridge.
“The bridge construction work had begun four years back. Now, it will take a few more years to rebuild it. This is disappointing. It shows the official callousness. The officials failed to inspect the quality of work,” said a local expressing his anguish over the collapse.
“Everyone was happy when the bridge was nearing completion four years after its construction begun. It would have helped people of around 30 villages belonging to Mayurbhanj and Balasore districts. However, no one knows if we will ever again get the bridge. We will have to suffer due to the low quality work of the contractors,” another resident said.
“People residing along the other side of the river face difficulties in medical emergencies as a temporary culvert over the river has also been washed away in recent times. The bridge will be of strategic importance to people in the area as it facilitated better communication to boost local economy,” said Kailash Chandra Sahoo, another resident.
“The government should have inspected the quality of the work from time to time. They should take action against officials responsible for the collapse and ensure timely completion of the bridge,” he added.
Balasore Rural Development Department executive engineer Nanda Dulal Ghadei informed reporters that an inquiry will be conducted to ascertain the reasons for the collapse of the bridge.
“We had inspected the bridge recently and found everything was okay. Centring of the bridge was washed away by the strong currents in the river,” said Ghadei.
