KARWAR : The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had allegedly issued a safety certification for the 42-year-old bridge on NH 66, which collapsed on Wednesday morning due to lack of periodical maintenance.
The Uttara Kannada district administration has found that there was absolute negligence on part of the NHAI, and this has been a prime reason for collapse of the bridge on NH 66, near Karwar, which connects Goa and Karnataka.
Sources in the district administration said that the bridge was transferred to be under the the NHAI in 2013, and the authority had an agreement to maintain the old bridge at periodic intervals. “They were supposed to issue a fitness certificate after maintenance. But they had issued a certificate without any maintenance work being carried out,” a highly placed official of the Uttara Kannada district administration told TNIE.
Adding to this, Uttara Kannada Superintendent of Police, M Narayan mentioned about a that there is already a complaint lodged against the NHAI, by a Tamil Nadu based truck driver, where he mentions about the lack of maintenance.
“They were supposed to replace the hinge bearings and clips at the joints of the pillars it was standing upon. They were supposed to issue a calibration and fitness certificate, which they are said to have issued without doing so,” said the official and added, “They had an agreement with the State PWD department which constructed the bridge, to maintain the bridge.”
Truck driver Balamurugan Pooswami blamed the NHAI for the disaster in his complaint. “I was coming from Goa towards Karwar and the bridge collapsed. This is because of the poor maintenance and negligence from NHAI,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Lakshmi Priya will write to the State Government regarding this incident recommending inquiry and action against NHAI.
The proposal for construction of the bridge came way back in early 1960s and the construction began in 1965. However, it was completed and open for public in 1983, (nearly 18 years after the construction began).
The bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs 4 crore by the then state government. The 665.5-metre-long bridge was repaired in 2009 and handed over to NHAI in 2013.
However, the NHAI later on constructed the new bridge and allegedly abandoned the old one.