A 35 year old steel bridge that connects Ambasaa and Kamalpur--two key sub-divisions of the Dhalai district caved in on Thursday morning after a heavily loaded coal laden lorry tried to cross it.
Despite the board in the approach road of the bridge clearly advising the commuters to cross the bridge with less than 5 ton of weight, the lorry that tried to cross the bridge had carried a minimum of 50 tons of coal.
The sheer negligence from the part of the lorry driver caused the incident. After the bridge collapsed, the transport between both the sub-division came to a standstill as the alternative bridge being constructed beside the bridge was left half-done, a local said.
The locals also held the PWD department responsible for the incident as the department miserably failed to maintain the bridge. “Since the last 10 to 12 years, no one has shown up from the PWD department to maintain the bridge. Apart from that, there are no checks from the side of PWD to inspect the kind of traffic the comparatively weaker bridge has been bearing. The PWD must be held answerable for the technical lapses from its side”, a local pointed out.
Meanwhile, the PWD department had lodged an FIR with the local police station against the driver for violating the norms. Sources in the PWD department said, “Since there is clear and bold advice in the beginning of the board, there is no point to blame the PWD department. Actions must be taken against the driver who has flouted the norms”, said a local engineer in the PWD department.
Reportedly, the driver was on his way to Karimganj. He crossed the bridge once safely but due to bad condition of roads he returned as soon as he entered the bridge, it collapsed and came crashing down to the nearby Kulai rivulet. The driver also sustained minor injuries.
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