New Delhi: A portion of an under-construction bridge in Telangana’s Peddapalli district collapsed on Monday night after a strong wind blew in the area. Two concrete girders, out of five between two pillars about 100 feet apart, collapsed around 9.45 pm.
“Luckily, a marriage party of 65 people on a bus passed by just one minute earlier and escaped being crushed by the concrete,” Sirikonda Bakka Rao, who was sarpanch of Odedu village – 600 metres away, till his term lapsed two months ago, told NDTV.
Nearly Rs 49 crore was sanctioned for the nearly one-kilometre bridge across the Manair River. The then Telangana Assembly Speaker S Madhusudhana Chary and local MLA Putta Madhu in 2016.
It was meant to be completed in a year and would have reduced the distance between three towns – Manthani, Parakal and Jammikunta by about 50 km. The bridge was to connect Garmillapallu in Tekumatla mandal in Bhupalpalli to Odededu in Peddapalli. The contractor had reportedly stopped the work within a year or two as he was under pressure for commissions and the government was not paying out his dues, NDTV reported quoting locals, adding that the same contractor had built a bridge in Vemulawada that was washed away during heavy rain in 2021.
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