Reacting to the statements by various civil society organizations and political parties, the state PWD department Engineer-in-Chief, Er. Khupi Natso in a clarification stated that the allegation of the bridge collapse “due to the minister’s negligence was totally uncalled for and the blame of collapse of a bridge under threat cannot be attributed to any minister’s negligence.”
Er. Natso also further pointed out that the amount sanctioned for the construction of the new bridge during 2015 was Rs. 37.65 crore. However, till date he said no fund was released even though the work order was issued during July 2016. Therefore, there was no question of “misdeed and misappropriation of the amount sanctioned for the bridge”, he added.
Er. Natso also said that the subway was constructed so as to divert traffic during the bridge construction. However, due to the heavy water force, the subway was also washed away, he said, adding, the works could only be started after the monsoon season. Er. Natso informed that the department had already initiated to repair/maintain Seithekima- Patkai road from July 12, 2017.
He also clarified that during June 2015, the department had closed the bridge for traffic in view of the poor condition of the bridge. However, there was “heavy public pressure to open the bridge”. In this regard, senior officers of the department inspected the bridge site on June 25, 2015 along with ADC Dimapur, DBs and police officials and held a meeting with the public leaders of the area.
After deliberation, it was decided to allow only light vehicles and the police to regulate the traffic in order to restrict/allow only one vehicle at a time. This was subsequently approved by the District Planning Board, Dimapur District, he said.
In addition, he said ‘cautionary board and barriers” were erected on both sides of the bridge and simultaneous strengthening works of the mid pier foundation was taken up and completed. Further, he said that the department had written to the concerned authorities that the harvesting of sand, gravels and boulders within a parameter of 1.00 km on both ends of the bridge should be totally banned. However, Er. Natso expressed regret that the activities continued, leading to weakening of the bridge foundation.
Meanwhile, Er. Natso has informed that the department has constituted a High Level Technical Committee to examine the causes of failure of the bridge and to submit its report within one month’s time.