The collapse of the under-construction Varanasi flyover in Uttar Pradesh that claimed at least 18 lives on Tuesday has once again drawn the attention to the poor state of infrastructure in the country. The Varanasi tragedy is a grim reminder of other similar incidents that India witnessed in the past few years.
Here are the recent incidents:
LUDHIANA, 2018: Gill flyover (Gill chowk) in Ludhiana collapsed last week possibly due to rats. Municipal officer Dharam Singh said, "there was a dump below the flyover due to which rats inhabited the spot. It was the rats who damaged the flyover". No casualty was reported.
WEST BENGAL, 2016: On March 31, 2016, a 150 m (490 ft) steel span of the under-construction Vivekananda flyover in the Girish Park neighborhood of Kolkata, India, collapsed. About 14 people died and more than 80 were injured in the incident.
In 2016 itself, a committee led by the then state chief secretary Basudeb Banerjee suggested a total pull-down of the flyover. The state government, still in confusion, asked a team from IIT-Kharagpur to ratify the same. Now the cost of demolition too has confounded the state government.
Image Courtesy: PTI
A source from the civil engineering department at IIT Kharagpur told Firstpost, "A state government official told us that the government is considering restoring the flyover and using it for one-way traffic. This is a construction which has zero strength left and would be unable to sustain the movement of ten vehicles at one time. The government appears to fear the prospect of spending another Rs 100 crores to demolish the flyover. But is it reason enough to endanger lives?"
Image Courtesy: PTI
According to the reports, on April 4, 2016, the police arrested four more people in connection with the Kolkata flyover collapse case.
NEW-DELHI, 2015: A portion of the Wazirabad- Janakpuri elevated corridor collapsed on to a busy road in outer Delhi's Pitampura area, damaging three parked cars and injuring two people seriously. According to the reports, preliminary investigations suggested that the straps holding the block snapped causing the corridor to fall.
SURAT, 2014: Three labourers were killed and six others injured when a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed in Parle point area of the city, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) Commissioner MK Das told PTI. The mishap occurred when the labourers were shifting the columns of the bridge during which a portion of the flyover fell on them, he said. The collapsed flyover was a part of the city`s cable-wire bridge connecting Parle point area to Adajan near Tapi river, Das said. The SMC has formed a committee to inquire into the collapse and an FIR has been ordered.
UTTARAKHAND, 2012: Six labourers died and 36 others were injured when an under-construction bridge collapsed at Chauraas in Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand.
SHIMLA, 2010: A year-old bridge collapsed near Shimla. No one was reported dead or injured in the incident.
BIHAR, 2009: At least six people died and 26 others were injured when an old bridge collapsed.
LUCKNOW, 2008: At least five people were killed and 25 injured when an under-construction flyover at the Faizabad and Lucknow corridor collapsed.
HYDERABAD, 2007: At least 15 people died and 20 others were injured after a portion of the flyover which was under construction at Panjagutta, in the busy corridor connecting Begumpet to the upscale of the Banjara Hills, collapsed.
(With Agency Inputs)
