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Indrayani river bridge collapse: Officials say no clarity yet on who is responsible, minister says work of new bridge was pending
Soon after its collapse, confusion reigned supreme about who was responsible for the upkeep of the bridge on the Indrayani river at Kundamala near Talegaon Dabhade, which was over three decades old.
Minister of Water Resources Girish Mahajan Sunday admitted that while tenders to build a new bridge were passed, the work was delayed due to the rain.
'The bridge was built in 1992, and recently a tender of Rs 7-8 crore was cleared to build a new bridge but the execution was delayed due to rain,' he said.
Chandrakant Wagmare, additional chief executive officer of Pune Zilla Parishad, admitted they were not clear about who was responsible for the upkeep of the bridge.
'It is still not clear as to who had the responsibility, as this area fell under the Cantonment area. But action will be taken,' he said.
Mahajan said that while it was a pedestrian bridge, two-wheelers used to ply on it.
Local residents who spoke to The Indian Express also blamed the lack of upkeep as well as two wheelers plying on it for the collapse of the bridge.
Located near the whirlpools and gorges of the river, Kundamala has become a tourist spot, especially during the rainy season.
Due to the small waterfalls and the whirlpools, many tourists thronged the area, especially over the weekend. The bridge in question linked both sides of the river.
For tourists, the bridge provided the perfect background for pictures and many thronged to take selfies.
That the condition of the bridge was precarious was known to local residents.
Aishwarya Gonte, a local resident, said that two-wheelers regularly used the bridge despite warnings.
'Locals had complained before but no one took up maintenance or repair works,' she said.
Raghuvir Shelar, local corporator, said both sides had notices pasted prohibiting the entry of two-wheelers.
'But people used to regularly ply through it because no police personnel used to check the activity. The situation was so grave that protective grills were installed on the collapsed bridge around 10 days ago,' he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is the minister in charge of public works, has ordered a survey of all old bridges in the state.
