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100-yr-old bridge was in good condition: govt
The state had certified the bridge on Savitri river in Mahad, which collapsed on Wednesday, as safe in the inspection undertaken in May.
The state had certified the bridge on Savitri river in Mahad, which collapsed on Wednesday, as safe in the inspection undertaken in May.
The state has 2,500 major and minor bridges and about 20,000 smaller bridges. CM Devendra Fadnavis announced a structural audit of all old flyovers audit during his visit to the spot on Wednesday evening. According to sources in the public works department, there are 40 bridges in the state that were built during the British rule and are about 100 years old. The officer said the decision on these bridges will be taken once the audit report is submitted.
The public works department will conduct the audit for bridges it maintains, while the National Highway Authority of India will carry out a survey of bridges under it. PWD minister Chandrakant Patil said the action will be taken at the earliest based on the report.
Earlier in the day, the minister announced in the legislative Assembly the structural audit of the bridge that collapsed was done in May by NHAI and was announced to be fit for the use. “We conduct reviews and assessment of bridges and flyovers before the monsoon every year. According to our reports, the bridge that collapsed was in good condition. We had constructed a new bridge with one lane parallel to the bridge. We will conduct a fresh review to know the cause of the accident,” said Ashish Kumar Singh, principal secretary, public works department.
Bharat Gogawale, Mahad MLA (Shiv Sena), claimed the British company that had constructed the bridge had warned the state government. “The letters send to the Indian counterpart a few years ago stated the bridge should not be used anymore. We don’t understand why the old bridge was in operation despite having a parallel new bridge,” Gogawale said.
Department sources claimed the company’s communication was not for the bridge that collapsed, but for bridges in Sangli.
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