Old bridge over Gurgaon canal collapses in F’bad
FARIDABAD: A bridge connecting two areas of Faridabad collapsed Friday evening. The trapped vehicles were immediately rescued with no report on loss of life, police said.
Police said that the incident occurred around 5pm on Friday due to heavy load of vehicles on this ‘old bridge’ believed to have been constructed in the 1960s.
The bridge situated on the Gurgaon canal in Ballabgarh area connects Sector 25 with Sector 55 of Faridabad. Eyewitnesses said some heavy vehicles were plying on the bridge and overloading seems to be the cause behind the collapse. Locals claimed the bridge lacked maintenance.
“Two trailers, a few trucks and motorcycles got trapped when the bridge collapsed,” Amardeep Jain, sub-divisional magistrate, Ballabgarh said. “Cranes were brought to pull out the vehicles”, he added. A large number of people assembled on the spot after the incident. “The bridge collapsed and its two sides formed a ‘V’ shape due to which vehicles got stuck. But they did not fall into the water”, Jain said.
“We are trying to find out which agency constructed this bridge,” Atul Kumar, deputy commissioner, Faridabad, said.
“There are number of bridges on Agra canal and Gurgaon canal which pass through Faridabad, now it is duty of the government to ensure they don’t collapse”, said Radhey Shyam, a resident of Sector 21.
“The bridge will be reconstructed by Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation and will take them nearly 20 days to complete it”, said Kumar.