By IANS
Hyderabad : The construction firm building the flyover that collapsed in Hyderabad Monday blamed digging work being carried out by the sewage board for the mishap Sunday evening that killed two people and injured nine.
Gammon India General Manager K. Jayachandran said work by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Works and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) to lay pipelines near the flyover might have loosened the soil, resulting in the accident.
Police have registered a case of negligence against Gammon India, which was building the two-km long flyover at a cost of Rs.300 million.
Rescue operations meanwhile drew to a close at the accident site in one of the busiest areas of Hyderabad.
Two heavy cranes had cleared most of the debris of the collapsed portion of the flyover in Punjagutta, one of the busiest commercial areas in the city. The rescue work continued through the night.
“Due to heavy rains the earth caved in and this led to the collapse of supporting iron structure,” C.V.S.K Sharma, special officer and commissioner, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) told IANS at the accident site.
He said six cars and three auto rickshaws were crushed under the falling iron structure and segments. One more vehicle is feared to be trapped under the debris.
The dead have been identified as N.B. Kumar, a farmer from Nizamabad district and Ankit Arora, a software engineer working for Infosys.
Hailing from Chandigarh, Arora had recently come to Hyderabad from Delhi with his friend Amandeep Singh, also a software professional. They were going to the Infosys campus when the flyover collapsed. While Arora died on the spot, Singh sustained injuries.
The mangled remains of cars and three-wheelers bore testimony to the disaster. Tonnes of iron scaffolding erected to mount the pre-stressed segments fell on motorists amidst heavy rains.
Eight segments, each weighing 40 tonnes, also crumbled with the platform. However, officials heaved a sigh of relief as there were fears of heavy loss of life. They said there was no heavy rush with Sunday being a holiday.
After the recent bomb blasts in the city, officials had made tall claims that the flyover was designed to withstand any blast but a heavy downpour was enough to turn it into rubble.
An inquiry by engineer-in-chief, roads and buildings department, has been ordered into the accident. Asked whether there was any negligence on the part of the construction company, he said he would reply only after the inquiry.
Police have closed the Punjagutta-Nagarjuna Circle road to traffic and GHMC has ordered that the flyover work be stopped till the inquiry is completed.
The accident site is about 100 yards from the busy Panjagutta junction where the multiplex Hyderabad Central is located. It is one of the busiest junctions in the city linking Begumpet to several areas including up-market Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills.
The flyover forms part of the series of flyovers to improve traffic movement towards Hitec City, which houses hundreds of software and BPO companies.
The accident came as a setback to municipal authorities as they were busy building half a dozen flyovers in different parts of this technology hub. They include an 11.5-km long expressway, India’s longest flyover, connecting the city to the upcoming international airport at Shamshabad on the outskirts.
The mishap has now triggered fear among citizens. “It was a tragedy waiting to happen. The work is being executed without adequate precautions. If this can happen in the heart of the city, it can happen at other places as well where such flyovers are coming up,” said D. Manoj, a software professional who uses this route to reach his office.
But officials were quick to allay their fears. “There is nothing wrong with either technology or the flyover. Nothing has happened to the flyover. It is the iron support which collapsed and we will take all necessary measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents,” said Sharma.