DEOGARH: Local MLA Subash Panigrahi on Friday slammed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for not taking action in the flyover beam collapse which took place near Purunagarh on January 28. Addressing mediapersons, Panigrahi said though four days have passed since the incident, no action has been taken against the officials responsible for the mishap. On Tuesday, a 60-70 metre beam of the under-construction flyover near Purunagarh collapsed. However, no casualties were reported in the incident.
The flyover is being constructed as a part of the four-laning project of NH-49. The NHAI has entrusted the construction work to Oriental Structural Engineers Private Limited.
The next day, a high-level meeting was held at the NHAI regional office in Bhubaneswar and subsequently, an expert team visited the spot for inspection. However, none of the officials of NHAI or the construction company has given any statement about the incident.
“The incident could have led to major loss of lives. Though the Government is sanctioning huge funds for infrastructure development, poor quality of construction work is being carried out due to lack of supervision of NHAI,” Panigrahi said.
The MLA demanded that cases be filed against the NHAI official in-charge of the project and representative of the construction firm and both arrested for their irresponsibility.