By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 8 Aug: The Government has taken major action following the sinking of the approach road to the Nanda Ki Chowki Bridge in Premnagar, here. The construction company involved in the project, Himalayan Construction, has been barred from participating in future tenders of the Public Works Department (PWD) after serious lapses were found in the design and the execution. Significantly, the company’s partner is Ruchi Bhatt, who is currently president of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha in Uttarakhand.
Meanwhile, a social media post by Bhatt has also gone viral on Saturday morning in which she admitted to being a partner in the firm but asserted that she is not running away from accountability. She expressed confidence that a fair probe would establish responsibility and said she would accept whatever action the government deems fit.
It may also be pointed out here that late Saturday evening, the Government had also suspended three engineers of PWD over negligence in overseeing the construction of the Nanda Ki Chowki Bridge project. Besides the Executive Engineer, the Assistant Engineer (AE) and the Junior Engineer (JE) havealso been suspended. Additionally, the Head of the Public Works Department (PWD) has been instructed to take action against the design consultant. The Secretary PWD has also directed the PWD head to prepare a time-bound action plan—based on the recommendations for the bridge’s future protection—and to execute the necessary work. The investigation report states that measures to divert the river’s flow and carry out river training works should have been implemented but were not. Consequently, the river’s flow shifted to one side, causing erosion and leading to the collapse of the approach road.
The bridge, built at a cost of Rs 16 crore over the Tons river, was opened for traffic on July 16 this year. Barely a fortnight later, on July 28 , heavy rainfall led to the collapse of the approach road, raising serious questions over the quality of construction, technical design and commuter safety. Preliminary investigations revealed shortcomings in the consultancy design, including failure to carry out river diversion work and flaws in crossslope standards, which concentrated the river’s flow towards one span and created a large cavity at the approach.
In response, the PWD suspended three officers for negligence, including Executive Engineer Rajesh Kumar yesterday, after it was found that lapses in design had contributed to the damage. The incident has triggered widespread public and political demand for strict accountability, with the government promising a thorough investigation and corrective measures. The collapse of the newly inaugurated bridge has become a matter of sharp scrutiny, highlighting the need for stringent oversight in infrastructure projects across the state.
