Bargarh bridge collapse: Contractor to be blacklisted, says official

Bargarh: The contractor involved in the construction of Biju Setu at Bheden in the district will be blacklisted as a portion of the under construction bridge collapsed yesterday that left five injured, said Rural Development Secretary Bishnupad Sethi on Monday.

“Besides, dues to the company will be held back,” Sethi informed.

Though the Rural Development department had issued a guideline asking contractors to undertake bridge work in presence of an executive engineer following the Bomikhal bridge collapse incident, the instruction was not carried out by the contractor involved in the Bheden bridge construction, he added.

Sources said after the bridge collapsed at Bheden, the Rural Development department’s Executive Engineer Amulya Mohapatra remains untraceable.

On the other hand, Assistant Executive Engineer Kamalakanta Taria and Junior Engineer Manoranjan Mohapatra were arrested on Monday.

Hours after the mishap on Sunday, the Rural Development Department placed the Executive Engineer along with the assistant executive engineer and the junior engineer under suspension for dereliction of duty.

The bridge was being constructed under the Biju Setu Yojana (BSY) at an estimated cost of Rs 8.5 crore.