Railway bridge on Chakki rivulet washed away

NURPUR, AUGUST 20

The railway bridge on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow gauge railway line at Kandwal in Nurpur collapsed early this morning, dashing hopes of thousands of commuters, who had been expecting the restoration of train services after the rains.

Some damaged piers and a supporting wall of the bridge washed away in the flash flood along with the railway track in the Chakki rivulet.

A witness, who prepared a video clip of the damaged bridge when it was collapsing, said the piers and supporting wall washed away in the rivulet around 6 am today.

The railway authorities, Ferozepur Division, had declared the track unsafe on August 2 after a technical team of the department had inspected the dilapidated piers and protection wall of the bridge and recommended the suspension of the train services indefinitely. The team had also suggested the re-construction of the bridge and even restricted the movement of human beings on the bridge track by closing it with fencing of iron wires.

Over 90-year-old bridge was weakened due to illegal mining on the riverbed.