Two under-construction flyovers collapse in Bengal, UP; probes on
SILIGURI/LUCKNOW: An under-construction flyover collapsed in Phansidewa, north Bengal on Saturday morning while a major portion of an under-construction flyover in Basti district of Uttar Pradesh also collapsed on the same day, police said.
No casualties were reported from Phansidewa, while one labourer was injured in Basti.
The flyover in Bengal is part of the 3,300 km East-West Corridor connecting Porbandar in Gujarat and Silchar in Assam collapsed and passes through Islampur, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in north Bengal. The one in UP was also being constructed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
“The incident took place in the morning in which a labourer on night-shift duty was injured,” said Basti District Magistrate Raj Shekhar.
Darjeeling district magistrate Joyoshi Dasgupta meanwhile has ordered a probe after the collapse. “An enquiry has been ordered. I cannot comment immediately on what led to the collapse of a portion of the flyover,” he said.
NHAI project director for the northern division has also been asked to initiate a probe into the Basti collapse .
The state governments were also quick to respond to the collapses. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has directed district authorities to ensure that the injured man gets prompt and adequate treatment, a government spokesman said.
Darjeeling district Trinamool Congress president and state tourism minister Gautam Deb also said, “This is a part of the East West corridor. The NHAI is in charge of it. They have to look into why the mishap took place
Suman banerjee, an engineer with the infrastructure company building the flyover in West Bengal said, “We are looking into the possible reasons.”