MADURAI: A portion of a flyover under construction between Pandiyan Hotel junction and Chettikulam in Madurai, as part of the Rs 544.23 crore Madurai-Natham National Highways project, fell on Saturday evening, killing one worker and injuring another.
According to Project Director, KPSK Mathivanan, the portion of the flyover at Narayanapuram Bank Colony fell due to a fault in the hydraulic cables. "Two workers were involved in fixing the bearing between two precast concrete segments at around 4.45 pm,” he said.
While one of the workers was on the ground, the other was on top of the bridge. “The hydraulic jack was being used to lift the concrete segments, each of which weighed about 70 tonnes, to place on the bearing,” he explained.
Mathivanan said that it was at this point that the worker on the ground noticed a break in the cables of the hydraulic jack and ran from the spot. “He also tried to alert the worker on top to move away but, in seconds, the cable failed and the worker fell along with the segment," he said. The broken segment measured around 35 metres.
Rescue teams rushed to the spot and around 40 personnel from the Fire and Rescue Services department were engaged in trying to save the worker. While one worker escaped with minor injuries, the worker who fell from the top, identified as Aakash Singh from UP, was seriously hurt and taken to Government Rajaji Hospital. He was declared dead on arrival.
Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and Madurai MP Su Venkatesan along with District Collector S Aneesh Sekhar visited the spot after the mishap.Addressing reporters, the Finance Minister wondered why only two workers were involved in such “heavy work”.
"The workers have not been given proper training. Further, the equipment used in the construction has not been maintained properly and this has been a major contributor to the tragic incident. An inquiry against the contractor will be initiated by NHAI," he said. Venkatesan, who urged the district collector to carry out an inquiry immediately, said that officials should check if all necessary safety protocols were in place at the construction site.
The 7.3 km elevated four-lane bridge connecting the Pandiyan Hotel Junction with Chettikulam was initiated in November 2018 as part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, an umbrella programme launched by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to develop road infrastructure across the country. About 66 percent of the project has been completed with as many as 400 migrant workers engaged in the construction. The four-lane bridge, when completed, will serve as a feeder route of the national highways, reducing the distance between Trichy and Madurai.