Gujarat govt forms high-level panel to probe collapse of Ahmedabad flyover

🔴A part of the 853-metre-long Mumatpura flyover bridge under construction gave way on Tuesday night when a reinforced concrete box girder fell through during an obligatory stress test.

The work site where the portion of flyover bridge collapsed. in Ahmedabad. Nirmal Harindran

The Gujarat government on Friday constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by an IAS officer to probe the collapse of an under-construction flyover on Sardar Patel Ring Road near South Bopal in Ahmedabad.

A part of the 853-metre-long Mumatpura flyover bridge under construction gave way on Tuesday night when a reinforced concrete box girder fell through during an obligatory stress test. No one was injured in the collapse.

The committee, headed by Lochan Sehra, can have four more members as per the requirement, the state government said in an official release. Sehra is a 2002-batch IAS officer who currently serves as Secretary (Housing and Nirmal Gujarat) in the Urban Development and Urban Housing Department.

Besides Sehra, the committee will also include the Chief Engineer of the Gujarat Housing Board, design experts from the Roads and Building Department, a representative from the forensic science laboratory and one from Vadodara-based Gujarat Engineering Research Institute (GERI).

The panel will inquire into the reasons behind the collapse that occurred at the intersection of Karnavati Club Road and SP Ring Road. It will also probe if there was any negligence during the construction process and will suggest steps to prevent such accidents in future. The committee will submit its preliminary report to the government in 30 days.

The Indian Express had on Friday reported that the company constructing the flyover, Ranjit Buildcon, has previously been involved in two similar accidents. Officials from the company said the accident happened as a “stressing procedure” was in progress and the collapse could be a result of mechanical failure or a design failure.

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