Pedestrian bridge collapse: Clean chit to Delhi govt

The Delhi government has got a clean chit from its own inquiry into the collapse of a pedestrian bridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

The Delhi government has got a clean chit from its own inquiry into the collapse of a pedestrian bridge near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

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The blame, according to the report, has fallen on the UK-based supplier of the technical components of the bridge, for not providing comprehensive information to the contractor about their use, an official statement from the government said on Tuesday.

Part of the blame has fallen also on the contractor for devising certain technical processes without necessary approvals.

The public works department, per se, comes out clean without receiving any flak. “The methodology of construction was not given by the design consultant. The contractor devised the procedure on his own and did not obtain necessary approval for the same,” the statement said.

In other words, since the UK-based firm, Macalloy, did not warn about the design parameters, the components could go with, the contractor — P&R

Infraprojects Ltd — went ahead with its own procedure without necessary technical clearances.

The probe also reported that the contractors did not understand the use of the ‘Macalloy system’ of bridge construction.

“The fault in the construction emerged due to “asymmetrical loading, which resulted into overstressing of Macalloy joint connecting the deck slab with the suspenders,” it added.

The two-member committee, comprising HS Dogra, adviser to the Delhi government, and Ashok Gupta, a civil engineering professor at IIT Delhi, had sought explanation from the UK firm, but did not receive any response.