Bridges to be audited

The state government has decided to rope in prominent engineering institutes to carry out structural audit of bridges across the state. In the backdrop of the Mahad bridge collapse, the government has decided to inspect all bridges in the state to verify their structural stability.

State public works department (PWD) minister Chandrakant Patil said that the survey of bridges would be carried out by the department. “We will hire engineering institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute and allocate bridges to them to carry out the audit. A budget will be allocated for this.”

The colleges will be instructed to recommend measures to ensure the bridges’ structural stability. The report is expected to be submitted within a month. Based on it, works to strengthen bridges will be undertaken soon, said Mr Patil.

A British-era bridge on the Savitri River near Mahad had collapsed, on Tuesday, and 42 people are feared to be dead.

The PWD minister said that the bridge collapse should be seen as a mishap. “When it was checked in the month of May, it was found technically sound. The pillars are still intact. But the flow of river was so severe due to heavy rains that it washed away the upper part of the bridge,” he said.

Speaking on the government’s decision, O.G. Kakade, director, VJTI, said, “The engineering institutes in the state are competent enough to check the structural stability of bridges.”

Govt takes responsibility Union minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari has taken responsibility for the Mahad tragedy. Speaking in an event at Navi Mumbai, he said, “As a government, the responsibility of the mishap lies with us. However, we will make sure that the bridge is built again within six months. Also, the expansion of Mumbai-Goa Highway into four lanes will be completed in two years.”