Suspended chief project manager blames district admn for mishap

VARANASI: Chief project manager HC Tiwari, who was suspended by deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday in connection with the Varanasi flyover tragedy, blamed the district administration for the mishap.

“We engaged best technicians and engineers and followed all safety norms. The engineers of UP State Bridge Corporation (UPSBC) wrote at least six times to the district administration seeking diversion of traffic from the area but no action was taken,” Tiwari said.

“What is my fault? Why have I been suspended? I had been working hard on the project. My past track record can be checked. We were working round-the-clock to complete the project by October,” he said.

Tiwari said overloaded trucks, buses, cars and twowheelers were being allowed on the road. “Traffic should have been diverted to other areas,” he said.

He said as an engineer he was curious to know the reason behind the mishap. “Crossbeaming among the girders was to be done soon. No work was being carried out on the pillars. Still, the girders fell,” he said.

Tiwari added a strong thunderstorm lashed the city days before the incident and it could have caused vibrations in the beam.

“Overloaded vehicles that used to pass by the pillars also caused vibrations that might have resulted in the mishap,” he said.

When reminded there was no strong wind blowing at the time of incident, Tiwari said the storm before the incident might have caused vibration in the beam.

“Best quality material and iron rods were being used in the construction of flyover. Probe will reveal the reason behind the incident,” he said.

“The district administration should co-operate with the UPSBC officials who joined today so that they may restart construction work at the site. I hope the administration and authorities will cooperate with the new team, which took over today, so that the project can be completed within the deadline,” he said.

› What is my fault? Why have I been suspended? I had been working hard on the project. My past track record can be checked. We were working 24x7 to finish the project by Oct HC TIWARI, suspended project chief