Detailed technical inspections will be held in the coming days to find out how the three beams of an under-construction bridge at Koolimad near Mavoor in Kozhikode district fell off on Monday.
A team from the vigilance wing of the Public Works Department, led by M. Ansar, Deputy Chief Engineer, visited the bridge on Wednesday. “All the three beams will have to be shifted. Later, the pier cap should be inspected to find out if there are any problems,” Mr. Ansar told the media.
The beams fell off when they were fixed on to the bridge using a hydraulic jack. Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society, the contractor, has said it was the result of a machine failure. One of the beams had fallen into the river and the other two were found hanging from the bridge, being built to connect Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. The incident happened when almost 90% of the work on the structure was complete. Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas had sought a report from the Kerala Road Fund Board.
Mr. Ansar said that more inspections would have to be held to figure out if the reason cited above was indeed the cause of the incident. Reports would have to be sought from all those officials involved in the construction work, he added. The work on the bridge, estimated to cost around ₹25 crore, began in 2019.
Meanwhile, Opposition parties, mainly the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), is trying to target Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Mr. Riyas and the contractor for the incident. M.K. Muneer, MLA, sought filing of cases against against Mr. Riyas on the lines of those being registered against the then Minister V.K. Ibrahim Kunju after cracks were noticed in the Palarivattom flyover in Kochi. P.K. Firos, Muslim Youth League general secretary, sought blacklisting the contractor, adding that he would file a complaint with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Youth Congress is also staging protests over the issue.
