RCC Bridge collapses, five workers hurt
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, February 05 2014: Adding another feather in the 'disgraced cap' of State PWD engineers and contractors, an under-construction RCC Bridge over Iril river at Keirao Litan Makhong in Imphal East district collapsed today leaving at least five construction workers wounded, one of them critically.

It may be noted that the retaining wall of the same bridge collapsed on December 22 last year and the wall was reconstructed following outcry from the locals.

The injured workers have been identified as Md Abdul Jalab (45), Md Anwar (25), Md Naoba (20), Md Amusana (27) and Md Abdul Hussain.

RCC Bridge collapses, five workers hurt

All of them are from Keirao Litan Makhong.

They sustained injuries on their head, back, legs, waist and chest.

They were rushed to JNIMS Hospital for treatment.

Among the injured construction works, the condition of Abdul Jalab is said to be critical.

According to the officials, the bridge is being constructed over Iril River at Litan Makhong by State PWD at a cost of around Rs.six crores under Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) of Ministry of DoNER.

The contractor of the bridge construction is one Md Liyakat Ali, who is said to be the younger brother of late ex-Minister Md Allauddin Khan.

The work order for the bridge construction was issued on December 16, 2011, but the actual construction work began in March 2012.The target for completion of the bridge is March this year.

The bridge collapsed while the workers were trying to put a concrete layer over a 15-metre slab of the bridge.

The slabs of the bridge are normally constructed one layer after another.

The first two concrete layers have already been laid few days back.

There were around 15 workers engaged for the construction work on the bridge.

Luckily, only five of them fell into the river as the main frame of the bridge slab collapsed.

Contractor Liyakat told media persons that the workers have been working day and night to meet the target for completion under strict supervision of the engineers for proper quality control.

Section Officer Khalique said that the slab collapsed due to weak support frame work.

The 60-metre-long bridge comprises four slabs of 15 metres each.

Two slabs covering a length of 30 metres have already been constructed.

The collapsed slab is the third one, he noted.

Meanwhile, the locals of Keirao Litan Makhong strongly condemned the contractor and engineers of PWD for the mishap and urged the authorities concerned to take strict action against the erring officials and contractors.