Bhubaneswar: A 100-foot stretch of a boundary wall of Rama Devi Women’s University in Odisha capital collapsed on Sunday.
According to sources, the height of the boundary wall, abutting Janpath near Rupali Chhak, was raised two months ago during the President’s visit to the university. A portion of the wall stretching up to 100 feet came crashing down this morning on the university’s garden side. However, reason for its collapse is yet to be ascertained.
Expressing concern over the incident, Ward-9 corporator Jiban Rout said that the collapse clearly indicated sub-standard work. “The contractor should have constructed a new boundary wall instead of raising the structure over the old wall. Compromise in the work led to its collapse,” he added.
A girl student alleged that the contractor did not carry out the work properly. The wall was constructed at a cost of Rs 70 lakh.
A local resident said that had the wall collapsed on any working day, it could have led to a mayhem. “No pillars were built along the 12-foot high wall,” he pointed out.
University’s Vice Chancellor Aparajita Chowdhury also blamed the wall collapse on poor construction work. “We had earlier informed the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and concerned authorities regarding water leakage near the boundary wall. There were also no beam and pillar. The concerned contractor will be questioned on the matter,” she added.
