KOCHI: The undue delay in submitting the inquiry report by the National Institute of Technology Calicut(NIT-C) experts, who looked into the collapse of two girders of the under construction Moolampilly-Pizhala bridge last month, has dealt a major blow to the dreams of the nearly 1,000 households at Pizhala.
According to the people, the experts’ failure to submit the report on time had resulted in the Kerala State Construction Corporation (KSCC) putting the work on hold.
The KSCC officers,on their part, said the work was put on hold owing to the delay in getting the NIT report. “It was over a month ago the girders plunged into the water and the District Collector roped in the experts from NIT-C to probe the matter and submit a report. But even a month on, they have not submitted the report. Only after getting the report can we resume the work and this may affect the timely completion of the bridge,” said a KSCC officer.
As per the initial assessment, the collapse of the girders had caused a loss of R 2 crore.
“The NIT team had visited the site. The actual reasons for the collapse will be known from their findings. They are expected to submit the report shortly. So the construction can be resumed only after the submission of the report,” said P G Suresh, managing director, KSCC.
However, the NIT-C authorities told Express the final report was yet to be prepared.
“We can’t disclose the findings to the media. The report will be submitted to the agency concerned. The experts had conducted an on- site inspection and we hope the final report will be submitted to the agency by May first week,” said M V L R Anjaneyulu, HOD, Department of Civil Engineering, NIT-C.
The 180 m-long Moolampilly-Pizhala bridge, has 21 pillars.
It was scheduled for completion in June. Though the initial project cost was Rs 86 crore, later it was revised to Rs 120 crore.
“We hope the NIT will submit the report this week and measures will be initiated to fast-track the construction work,” said Collector K Mohammed Y Safeerulla.