Ludhiana flyover wall gives way, civic body blames rats

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 14

A major tragedy was averted when a portion of retaining wall of Gill Chowk flyover collapsed late on Sunday night.

The flyover was constructed around eight years ago. Long traffic jams were witnessed at different places in city on Monday.

Dharam Singh, Superintending Engineer of the local municipal corporation, said: “There is a garbage dump near the flyover. Rats breed there and dig holes near the flyover’s retaining walls. The flyover was constructed by Deepak Builders in 2010. Now, it is maintained by the NHAI and it would repair it.”

Locals say a video related to the flyover was circulated around a month ago. In the video, a resident had claimed that the flyover could collapse anytime as soil and gravel was coming out of the retaining walls.

The man in the video had also claimed that rats are damaging the bridge, but no action was taken by the MC. The holes made by rats can be witnessed on the footpath along the flyover. Bhupinder Singh, a local resident, said they had complained to the MC about the existence of a garbage dump near the flyover in 2015.

Bittu orders probe

Local MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, who visited the spot along with Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu and MC Commissioner Jaskiran Singh, said it was serious incident. A high-level probe committee would be formed for a detailed report on the incident, he said.

Bittu targeted the SAD-BJP government for its “poor functioning and lack of supervision” on important projects and claimed that those found guilty would be taken to task.

MC-builder nexus alleged

Lok Insaaf Party president and Atam Nagar MLA Simarjit Singh Bains have raised questions over the quality of material used. He claimed that during his stint as a councillor, he had raised objection over the matter in Municipal Corporation meetings.

“Deepak Builders had no experience in construction of flyover, but a senior MC official favoured the contractor. The project was awarded to him, ignoring technical bids during the tenure of the SAD-BJP government,” he alleged.

“Now, the Congress government is to be blamed for ignoring the condition of retaining walls. Action must be taken against the guilty,” he said.

Meanwhile, a group of private engineers alleged that the construction was faulty. They demanded that the administration should reconstruct it.