Bomikhal flyover mishap: Dharmendra slams Odisha govt

Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday came down heavily on the Odisha government for showing favouritism to the blacklisted construction company Panda Infra, which is constructing the flyover at Bomikhal in Bhubaneswar.

A portion of Bomikhal over bridge collapsed on Thursday night killing a worker and injuring another.

Pradhan, who visited the accident spot, blamed the state government’s alleged inefficiency for the Bomikhal flyover mishap for the second time after a span of some months.

He wanted to know why a black-listed company was asked to resume the flyover work and demanded that a proper investigation should be conducted and culprits should be punished.

“It’s a painful incident and also for the second time in this under construction overbridge. The matter of great concern is that of a mishap like this already happened in September last year and the same construction company is carrying out the work. At least the construction company should have been blacklisted, its contract is cancelled and a new eligible agency is entrusted with the job. Astonishingly, the same construction company had resumed this task despite such complaints,” said the Petroleum Minister.

He also requested the state government for an impartial probe and corrective measures by reliable agencies like IIT Chennai having experience and expertise in civil engineering.

He urged the Chief Minister to take strict action against the guilty rather than being hand in glove with them.