Malkangiri: A portion of under-construction Gurupriya Bridge at Chitrakonda near Balimela reservoir in Malkangiri district collapsed under the impact of flash floods on Tuesday. Rain has been lashing several parts of the district for the past few days.
According to reports, three girders of the bridge between 10th and 11 columns caved in. No casualty was reported. Nearly 50 labourers were working on the bridge at the time of the incident. Last year, one pillar of the bridge had caved in. The fresh mishap is likely to delay the project earlier targeted to be completed by September.
“Completion of the bridge will be delayed. There has been no major damage to the bridge,” Works Secretary Nalini Kanta Pradhan said.
Low-quality work is being attributed to the bridge collapse. Kolkata-based Royal Infra Limited is carrying out the construction work for the 910-metre-long bridge. It would provide road connectivity to around 154 villages spread over seven panchayats with a population of 30,000 tribals in the cut-off areas of the district.
Notably, the foundation stone for this bridge was laid way back in 1982 by the then chief minister late J B Patnaik and again by present chief minister Naveen Patnaik in 2000.
The work, however, was delayed due to several reasons, including Maoist threat.
Initially, the construction work was assigned to the Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation (OBCC) and later taken up by Gammon India Limited (GIL). The GIL backed out shortly after starting the work, owing to repeated attacks on its men and equipment by the rebels.
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