Nabarangpur Bridge Collapse: Contractor, JE & SDO Booked

Nabarangpur: A complaint has been filed with police against three persons including the contractor, Junior Engineer and Sub-divisional Officer (SDO) in connection with the collapse of an under-construction bridge over Negi River near Talapadar in the district that claimed one life and left four others injured.

The Executive Engineer, Santosh Saamal has lodged the FIR against contractor Asis Biswal, JE Asit Patra and SDO Niranjan Sahoo at Umerkote police station in the district.

The superintending engineer, who visited the mishap site on Monday for inspection, attributed the accident to the use of substandard raw materials in the construction.

"We observed that the accident might have occurred due to some fault in centering support. There must be some defect in the pipes used in the centering. We carried out the measurement and launched an inquiry to ascertain the exact reason of the mishap," said Sunabeda superintending engineer.

A portion of the under-construction bridge under Biju Setu Yojana caved in on Sunday evening while some workers were levelling the upper surface of the structure. Four labourers working on the bridge fell down and a heap of concrete and iron rods buried them. One of them identified as Mahendra Mali died on the spot while three others sustained critical injuries. Fellow workers rescued them and rushed them to Umerkote community health centre. They are undergoing treatment at District Headquarters Hospital (DHH).

Hours after the incident, the Development Commissioner had directed the Nabarangpur Collector to lodge criminal case against the contractor, sub-divisional officer (SDO) and Junior Engineer.