Official says his company not to blame in India bridge collapse that killed at least 20, calls it 'God's act'
- 8 years ago
KOLKATA, INDIA — A bridge that was under construction collapsed in Kolkata, India on March 31, killing at least 20 and trapping over 100 people underneath.
The project, called the Vivekananda flyover, was being constructed in central Kolkata's Bara Bazaar, a heavily crowded area that is home to a prominent marketplace. The construction of the bridge has been delayed multiple times and controversy surrounds its collapse.
About 100 meters of the overpass fell on Thursday, while other parts of the bridge remained standing. Witnesses said the section of bridge were welded and concrete was laid yesterday.
A police complaint was filed against the IVRCL group, the private construction company that is responsible for the project.
Indians expressed outrage after K Panduranga Rao, a senior official with the IVRCL group, denied the company was at fault.
"One girder have been missed, then second one has fell. That's how the incident happened. It's nothing but a God's act," he told ABC Australia.
An architect and urban planner, Sudhir Vohra, told Indian channel NDTV that India's lax standards and a culture of chasing the cheapest tender were to blame.
"This is not act of God, this is human error, and there is no system of liability," he said. "We're sitting in 2016, we don't have a system of either controlling the standards of education for design or construction personnel — anywhere. And this is what it comes down to."
The long-delayed 2.5km flyover is part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
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The project, called the Vivekananda flyover, was being constructed in central Kolkata's Bara Bazaar, a heavily crowded area that is home to a prominent marketplace. The construction of the bridge has been delayed multiple times and controversy surrounds its collapse.
About 100 meters of the overpass fell on Thursday, while other parts of the bridge remained standing. Witnesses said the section of bridge were welded and concrete was laid yesterday.
A police complaint was filed against the IVRCL group, the private construction company that is responsible for the project.
Indians expressed outrage after K Panduranga Rao, a senior official with the IVRCL group, denied the company was at fault.
"One girder have been missed, then second one has fell. That's how the incident happened. It's nothing but a God's act," he told ABC Australia.
An architect and urban planner, Sudhir Vohra, told Indian channel NDTV that India's lax standards and a culture of chasing the cheapest tender were to blame.
"This is not act of God, this is human error, and there is no system of liability," he said. "We're sitting in 2016, we don't have a system of either controlling the standards of education for design or construction personnel — anywhere. And this is what it comes down to."
The long-delayed 2.5km flyover is part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
-------------------------------------------------------------
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