Odisha Govt To Disengage Panda Infra From Bomikhal Flyover Construction

Chief Of Panda Infra, Pratap Panda Arrested. Photograph: Ashok Panda

Bhubaneswar: Four days after the collapse of a portion of an under-construction flyover at Bomikhal in the city, the Odisha government on Monday decided to disengage Panda Infra Pvt Ltd from the construction of the flyover.

Confirming this in a statement to the media, Works secretary Nalinikanta Pradhan said the Panda Infra would be disengaged from construction of the flyover with immediate effect.

“The government will initiate further action against the company after it receives a final report from the 8-member expert team,” he added.

He said the construction of the Rs 4-5 crore flyover will be completed in two months and it will be inaugurated after being verified by a third party.

“The state government had allowed Panda Infra to go ahead with the flyover construction after the first incident. But the company did not bother to mend its ways because of which the flyover caved in again, which is an unpardonable crime,” he pointed out.

Notably, a local businessman of the city, Satya Patnaik, was killed and 11 others were injured when a portion of the flyover fell on them on September 10 last year.

The second incident took place on the night of May 3 when one labourer was killed while another sustained serious injures.

A day after the incident, the commissionerate police had arrested Pratap Kishore Panda, owner of Panda Infra company. He was later sent to the Jharpada Special Jail here after a local court rejected his bail plea.