Kolkata flyover collapse: PWD issued tenders for painting while bridge's condition deteriorated

Three tenders have been issued for portray and floor restore of Majherhat bridge. Five were floated for Taratala flyover, less than a hundred metres away. The ultimate gentle for 'floor repairing of a provider avenue' of the Majherhat Bridge was floated on July 27. The undertaking did no longer take off. The PWD , on August 10 issued a wellknown memorandum saying the advent of bridges and culverts have been no longer on top of things. 'Therefore, it's far decided that every one bridges and culverts are to be painted after cleansing the same and repairing it, if vital.' PWD minister Arup Biswas and primary secretary Arnab Roy couldn't be reached despite repeated attempts seeking remark. Although PWD floated all the tenders, urban improvement minister Firhad Hakim did no longer specify which branch was in rate of the Majherhat Bridge. 'The PWD keeps each flanks of the bridge and the road above. Only the element that runs above the railway tracks is repaired by way of Eastern Railway. The Trinamool government cannot disown responsibility,' said former PWD minister and Revolutionary Socialist Party chief Kshiti Goswami. 'I can't do not forget the yr right now however our (the preceding Left Front) authorities repaired portions of the bridge.' Civil engineers pointed at precise trouble regions though they were not in a function to mention to what volume these elements contributed to the catastrophe. 'It is a monumental preservation failure. One, down the years, as the street at the bridge become repaired, the employees piled asphalt layer on layer, thereby increasing the lifeless load quite,' said Kamal Saha, a civil engineer. 'Also think of the heavy motors that used to ply over the shape. There had been no structural reinforcements. Only some cosmetic work consisting of portray became executed.' Another engineer, who did no longer need to be named, said 'engineering protection' turned into vital, now not cosmetic dressing. 'Steel beams exposed after the catastrophe show that water kept seeping through concrete and weakened the structure.' Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday echoed Hakim's announcement on Tuesday announcing vibrations caused at the adjoining Metro railway creation web page may have contributed to the disaster. Experts did not agree. 'Had vibration caused by digging been effective sufficient to crack portions of the bridge, then it might have affected the railways' tracks lengthy ago,' said any other engineer on situation of anonymity. Dailyhunt https://issuu.com/agenbhairava