CHENNAI: Locals at the area where a car plunged 30 ft from an incomplete bridge on the Chennai outer ring road on Thursday night killing three people, said sometimes movie shooting crew do not replace the barricades at the spot and that it could have resulted in the accident.
Anand, a local resident, claimed the construction work of the two bridges had been going on for more than four years, but for the last six months work had stopped. Below one bridge, the Red Hills RTO was located.
“Many film shootings took place on the bridge and sometimes, the film crew fail to put the barricades back in place. This is the first such accident at the spot,” said Anand.
Work on the outer ring road connecting Nemilicheri with Minjur is being carried out by the TNRDC under Phase II. The 30-km six-lane outer ring road passes through the Tiruvotriyur-Ponneri-Pancheti road.
“We have placed barricades at the mouth of the bridge since the road work has not been completed. Some of the barricades are kept open to provide access to workers. The motorists entered the incomplete bridge despite the barricades,” claimed a senior Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Limited official.
According to the TNRDC, about 90 per cent of the work on the outer ring road project has been completed. The interchange work at Red Hills and some other places has been delayed due to fund shortage and is expected to be completed soon.
Police said Ayyappan, the husband of deceased person Pavithra and who was travelling in the ill-fated vehicle, was the district Congress president for the SC/ST unit and married Pavithra four years ago. Ayyappan’s father-in-law Palani, another person who died in the accident, was into real estate business.
A case has been registered under section IPC 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304 (ii) against the contractor.