In a strange turn of events, bridges under construction on the Manair River are collapsing one after another. These bridges were meant to connect remote tribal areas in two districts, but their repeated failures are causing significant problems for local people.
Back in August 2016, the then Roads and Buildings Minister Tummala Nageswar Rao and other officials laid the foundation stone for a kilometer-long bridge. This bridge was to connect Odedu village in Peddapalli district with Garbhillapalli villages in Jayashankar Bhupalapalli district. The project was estimated to cost Rs 47.40 crore.
During construction, heavy floods damaged the materials, leading the contractor to use pieces of wood to support the structure temporarily. However, these wooden supports were not properly secured and were later destroyed by more floods. As a result, the girders lost their stability.
On April 22 of this year, three piles of girders collapsed. Officials investigated and concluded that the collapse was due to the destruction of the wooden supports. Unfortunately, this issue was neglected due to the Lok Sabha elections.
On Tuesday, five more girders collapsed. Villagers claim the collapse happened during strong winds, while officials argue that the heavy concrete girders couldn’t have fallen due to wind alone. This raises questions about the quality of land testing, supervision, and design during the construction process.
Each girder weighs 190 tonnes, and 120 girders are needed for the bridge. So far, 58 girders have been installed, but the rest remain untouched. The collapsed girders were among the first 58 installed. Improper placement might have caused these failures, and the remaining girders are also at risk of collapsing.
In the past, attempts to repair the fallen girders with gas welding failed. The contractor responsible for the work has shown little interest in fixing the issues. R&B DEE (Manthini) Zafar stated that they would recover damages from the contractor, assign the work to another contractor, and complete the project after a thorough examination.
Dhinesh, a social worker from Peddapalli, expressed regret that no action has been taken against the contractor. He urged the government to respond immediately and form a committee to punish those responsible.
