A detailed technical inspection will be conducted in the coming days to find out how three beams of an under-construction bridge collapsed at Kulimad near Mavoor in Kozhikode district on Monday.
A team of Vigilance Wing of Public Works Department under the leadership of Deputy Chief Engineer M. Ansar visited the bridge on Wednesday. “All three beams have to be shifted. Later, the ghat cap should be inspected to find out if there is any problem,” Mr Ansar told the media.
The beams fell when mounted on the bridge using a hydraulic jack. The contractor, Uralungal Labor Contract Cooperative Society, has said that it was a result of machine failure. One of the beams had fallen into the river and the other two were found hanging from the bridge, which was being built to connect Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. The incident happened when about 90% of the work on the structure was completed. Public Works Minister PA Mohammad Riyas had sought a report from the Kerala Road Fund Board.
Mr Ansar said that further inspection would have to be done to ascertain whether the above mentioned reason was indeed the cause of the incident. He said that reports would be sought from all the officials involved in the construction work. Work on the bridge, costing around Rs 25 crore, started in 2019.
Meanwhile, opposition parties, mainly the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), are trying to target Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Mr Riyas and Contractor for the incident. MLA MK Munir demanded registration of cases against Mr Riyas on the lines of those registered against then minister VK Ibrahim Kunju after he noticed cracks in the Palarivattom flyover in Kochi. Demanding blacklisting of the contractor, Muslim Youth League general secretary PK Firoz said that he would file a complaint with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau. Youth Congress is also protesting on this issue.