A major mishap was averted after the under-construction boundary wall adjacent to Shiva Ganga Pond inside the Akhandalamani Shrine at Bhadrak’s Aradi, collapsed on Monday night.
As per reports, the boundary wall was being made for the protection of a 40-ft long drain adjacent to the Shiva Ganga Pond. The contractor dug deep on the inside of the boundary wall making it weak and subsequently collapsing entirely.
The boundary wall collapse has reportedly left the road along the pond with large craters and cracks. However, thankfully the wall collapsed during the night saving precious lives that work under the boundary wall in the daytime.
While the locals made the State government and district administration responsible for the collapse, no comments have been made from the administration by now.
A priest of the shrine said, “Wall collapse is nothing new here. Earlier, a 22-room building had collapsed here too. There have been four building collapses in the area in the near past. But the administration has kept a mum on this. This is a conspiracy by the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). There has been no action against the contractor as well.”
“The contractors are giving PC (bribe) to the local political leaders and department officials. That is why the work done in the area is of sub-standard quality. Thank God the wall collapse happened in the night. It was Monday and there were thousands of devotees on the temple premises. Had the wall collapsed in the day, lives would surely have been lost,” said another local of Aradi.