Oded bridge collapse: Negligence of officials blamed

The high level bridge had collapsed on Tuesday evening after four cement girders placed in between Pillars 17 and 18 came crumbling down, reportedly due to the heavy wind.

Peddapalli: Last night’s collapse of an under construction bridge across the river Manair near Oded, which was the second time it collapsed within three months, being attributed to poor quality work by the contractor and the negligence of the government machinery.

The high level bridge had collapsed on Tuesday evening after four cement girders placed in between Pillars 17 and 18 came crumbling down, reportedly due to the heavy wind. Three girders of the bridge had collapsed due to heavy winds on April 22.

---

The bridge was being constructed across the Manair to develop road connectivity between Peddapalli and Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district, connecting Oded, Mutharam mandal of Peddapalli district and Garimillapalli, Tekumatla mandal of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. The bridge was taken up with an estimated cost of Rs 47 crore. Though the foundation for the bridge was laid in 2016, the work was dragging on even after nine years.

Representatives of political parties and locals visited the bridge on Wednesday. They made it clear that the bridge collapsed because of the poor quality work. The contractor had used sub-standard material for the construction, they said. There was also negligence of engineers and Road and Building department officials, they said, adding that if the officials had kept an eye on the construction and ensured quality and speedy completion of the work, the mishap would not have occurred. They demanded that the State government take action against the contractor and government officials by conducting an enquiry.