3-member team to examine ROB

Berhampur: The state govt has constituted a three-member team of the works department to conduct the technical inspection of the railway over-bridge (ROB) at Haladiapadar, near here, following frequent road accidents.

The objective is to find out if there is any structural defect.The latest road accident took place on the approach road of the ROB on Jan 31 in which five persons died when a truck collided with three bikes.The team consisting of chief engineers of bridge design wing, research development & quality promotion and planning investigation & procurement (PI&I) of road and building is scheduled to visit the site on Feb 16.The govt has sought a comprehensive technical inspection report along with findings and specific recommendations for necessary remedial measures from the team.The move comes following the public outcry and allegations of MP and MLA of Berhampur about the bridge’s defective construction.MP (Berhampur) Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy had written to CM Mohan Charan Majhi in Oct last year alleging that frequent accidents took place in the area due to faulty geometric constructions and hazardous design of the ROB at Haladiapadar. He has appealed to him to rectify the error in the bridge design to avoid frequent accidents in the area.

Senior BJD leader and former Union minister Chandra Sekhar Sahu has also urged the Union minister for road, transport and national highways Nitin Gadkar for construction of a subway near the flyover at Haladiapadar to avoid frequent road accidents in the area.