Asok for probe into flyover fall

TT, Aug 15, 2018, Siliguri: Siliguri MLA and mayor Asok Bhattacharya has written to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, seeking a comprehensive probe into the collapse of portions of an under-construction flyover at Kantibhita in Phansidewa.

The flyover is a part of the East West Corridor project taken up by the National Highways Authority of India.

Construction firm Larsen & Toubro is engaged in executing the project along a stretch of the corridor that passes through the outskirts of Siliguri.

On August 11, concrete planks had fallen down from pillars of the flyover that would be 750m long.

"The proposed flyover will help improve road connectivity. But the collapse has left us worried and hence, I sent the letter to the Union minister, mentioning that a thorough investigation is required," said Bhattacharya.

He claimed that construction materials were provided by some local suppliers for the project.

"We want the Centre to check whether the materials were of appropriate quality. Technical experts should be engaged to make sure that materials supplied by some locals are of high quality. Any compromise with the project can lead to similar incidents in future," the MLA said.

After the collapse, technical experts from the construction company had visited the spot. They said the planks had been hit by some container truck which led to the collapse and asserted that materials of high quality were used.

In a separate letter to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Bhattacharya sought her intervention to stop the highhandedness of land mafias, which, he said, were engaged in illegal deals and encroachment of plots in and around Siliguri.