Siliguri: A portion of an under-construction flyover in the East West Corridor on NH-31D collapsed at Kantibhita in Phansidewa, located around 25 km from Siliguri recently. Some observers in Siliguri are actually pointing a finger at the Union Surface Transport Ministry for causing the crash!

Perhaps this didn’t feature prominently on the news, because  no injury or casualty has been reported. The district magistrate of Darjeeling issued an order to the construction company to stop work at the site until a report is submitted to the administration about the collapse.

The East West Corridor is four-lane expressway project, taken up by NHAI around 15 years ago. It connects Porbandar in Gujarat with Silchar of Assam. The expressway enters north Bengal at Purnia More in North Dinajpur and moves through the districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar before entering Assam.

“This is an NHAI project and how a portion of the under-construction flyover collapsed can be ascertained only after a thorough investigation by engineers or technical experts. I have told the NHAI to submit a report of the incident. They have been also told to stop construction work till the report is placed,” said Joyoshi Dasgupta, the district magistrate of Darjeeling, after inspecting the damaged site.

People living close to the site were shocked. “A little past midnight, there was a thud with mild tremors, which made us run out of our homes. Initially, we thought it to be an earthquake but later found that a stretch of the flyover has collapsed,” recall the locals. They carried out a search to find out whether anyone  was trapped  under the four concrete planks — around 25 metres long – which crashed to the ground.

After the incident, alarmed representatives of the construction company rushed to the spot.

“It is difficult to comment as why the beams collapsed. We will thoroughly check the area and damaged portions. Also, the materials used for construction and whether there were any anomalies in the work, will also be checked,” said an official of the construction company.

An engineer working with the state government said it is also necessary to know whether enough time is being spent to fit the concrete planks.

“Adequate time should be provided before removing the support structures from beneath the plans to ensure that the concrete planks fuse the pillars,” he said.

In June this year, at a high level meeting held in Goa, the Union surface transport ministry had passed instructions to different government agencies of the state and Centre, to expedite the ongoing highway projects and finish them by March 2019.

People ask, “Election haste, shoddy work? Contractors are under pressure to complete the construction so Modi government can show a good report card? What will happen when the bridges will collapse with traffic on them? then enquiry will be made, and the blame game will start!”

  North bengal, Northeast