Just three days ahead of the first phase polls in West Bengal, a portion of a flyover that was under construction for the last eight years caved in claiming at least 21 lives and leaving 78 injured. The death toll may rise further as the rescue operation is still on.
The project, sanctioned in 2007 during the Left Front regime, had missed nine deadlines--last one in November 2015. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was quick to shift the blame on Left government saying it started under Left rule, Ashok Bhattacharya, former municipal affairs and urban development minister said that the construction material supplied by the TMC-run syndicates caused the disaster.
Banerjee, who was on an election tour and scheduled to hold three election rallies in West Midnapore, cancelled all rallies and rushed to the spot. She visited the spot and is now sitting at a nearby location from where she is supervising the rescue work. “I do not want to make any political comment right now. We will not spare the builders. They are a blacklisted company . We will take stringent action. We had sought a complete plan of action from the builders which we did not receive. The project began in 2008 under CPM. But this mishap has happened in our time, so we will do what it takes,“ Mamata said. Banerjee announced compensation worth Rs.5 lakh for the deceased victim and Rs.3 lakhs for the injured.
Ailing infrastructure firm IVRCL, whose under-construction bridge in Kolkata collapsed, said it was an act of god and urged not to blame it since all the necessary quality steps were taken as per standard operating procedures.
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