Flyover portion collapse tells of officials’ apathy

The cement concrete block rested on the two pillars of the flyover collapsed hitting two more in the row and crushed to the ground with a big bang. The three blocks which were rested on the pillars were recently built and the centring too was removed to prepare the section for formation of cement concrete between the two pillars. The 80-meter-long blocks were not fixed on the pillars as the contractor required some more time to begin the concrete works.

The flyover is being constructed as part of the 10-km-long inner ring road connecting the Hyderabad national highway from Milk Project and Kabela centers in one town with the Kolkatta highway at the Ramavarappadu Ring. While the total inner ring road is estimated at Rs 120 crore, the flyover is being executed at a cost of Rs 19 crore. The work on the ring road was started in 2008-09 and was scheduled to be completed in March 2014 with the completion of the flyover. Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam leaders who visited the spot on Tuesday morning blamed the administration for its failure to supervise the works leading to the collapse. The TD leaders demanded that the government order judicial enquiry into the incident and also fix responsibility on the contractor and the officials of the Viayawada-Guntur-Tenali-Mangalagir Urban Development Authority.