Three days after the Majherhat bridge partly collapsed in Kolkata, another bridge caved in at Mangach in Darjeeling district of West Bengal on Friday, police said. No casualty or injury has, however, been reported so far.

The bridge over Pichla river in Phansidewa block came down when a lorry carrying bricks was crossing it, they said.

North Bengal Development Minister Rabindranath Ghosh, who visited the spot after the incident, blamed the lorry driver and Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad for the mishap.

The 30-year-old bridge was built and maintained by the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad.

“The lorry driver should have given a thought as to whether the bridge was capable of withstanding the load of the heavy vehicle. Many drivers are reckless. This is one such example.

“Our panchayat representatives have also time and again given representation to the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad requesting that the bridge be repaired. But no one paid any heed to their pleas,” said the Minister.

On August 11, an under-construction flyover had come crashing down at Goaltuli of Phansideoa Block.

Three people were killed and 19 injured when the Majherhat bridge in south Kolkata collapsed on Wednesday.

(IANS)

Patidar agitation spearhead Hardik Patel was on Friday rushed to a hospital on the 14th day of his indefinite fast as he complained of difficulty in breathing.

He was admitted to the Government Civil Hospital in Sola two weeks after he gave up even taking water in protest against the government ignoring his demands.

(IANS)

The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar on Friday announced its support to the nationwide protest on September 10 called by the Congress against the hike in fuel prices, a party leader said here.

RJD state President Ramchandra Purve said thousands of party leaders and workers will participate in the protest across the state.

The RJD is a major ally of the Congress in Bihar.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao launched a trenchant attack on Rahul Gandhi, describing him as the “biggest buffoon in the country” while speaking to reporters today.
Mr KCR, was addressing a lengthy press conference after announcing that the state assembly would be dissolved, which set Telangana on course to early polls.

“Everyone knows what Rahul Gandhi is…He’s the biggest buffoon in the country. Whole country has seen how he went to Mr Narendra Modi and hugged him, the way he is winking,” said KCR, in his unfiltered attack, referring to the 47-year-old Congress chief’s much-talked about act of hugging the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha.

When asked about the Congress president’s plans to campaign in the state, KCR scoffed: “He is an asset for us. The more he comes to Telangana, the more seats we will win.”

The Chief Minister of India’s newest state also said Rahul Gandhi had inherited the “Congress’s Delhi sultanate”. And so, he said, the people of Telangana should not be slaves to Delhi. “The decisions of Telangana should be taken in Telangana,” he said.

A stung Congress responded: “Only a buffoon can say this”. Congress leader RC Khuntia said the Telangana chief minister had no right to say anything about RG, when he was promoting his own family. “He is a Hitler, a dictator. He hasn’t visited his office because of superstition,” Mr Khuntia said.

Earlier today, KCR asked the Governor to dissolve the assembly, a decision that had been anticipated for days. The move pushes forward the elections from the middle of 2019 to the end of this year.

The Chief Minister also named more than 100 candidates of his Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS). He will formally launch the party’s election campaign with a public meeting at Husnabad in Siddipet district on Friday. Christened “Prajala Aasirwada Sabha”, this will be the first of 100 public meetings planned by TRS over the next 50 days.

Mr Rao’s push for early elections is seen as a move to keep his voter base together. Had the assembly completed the full term, it would have clashed with the general elections and the focus would shift to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The TRS chief has been pitching for a non-Congress-non-BJP front for the 2019 polls for months. The Congress, however, accuses him of working to a secret pact with the BJP.

(PTI)

Two months before a portion of the Majherhat bridge in Kolkata collapsed, leaving two persons dead and 25 others injured, a West Bengal Public Works Department audit of bridges and flyovers — ordered by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) — failed to identify weaknesses or faults in the 54-year-old bridge.

A month after the directive was issued, the PWD issued instructions to carry out beautification and patchwork for the Majherhat bridge. Sources in the state secretariat said the PWD had even given the bridge a fitness certificate after conducting a routine check.

A day after the collapse, efforts to rescue three missing construction workers at the adjacent Metro site, are still on even as the state government Wednesday said a high-level probe has been ordered.

“We have held a meeting with all officers and have sought health reports of all flyovers and bridges immediately. Regarding Majherhat, a police investigation is on and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already stated that the chief secretary will probe the matter,” said state Minister for Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Firhad Hakim.

Kolkata Majherhat bridge collpase brings back horrors of Vivekananda flyover tragedy Search and rescue operation at Majherhat bridge collapse site in Kolkata on Tuesday night. Partha Paul
On July 5, the CMO had ordered: “With the onset of monsoon it would be appropriate to undertake a quick review of condition of all bridges, flyovers, embankments, irrigation dams etc throughout the state. Such an exercise was made two years back. All the departments concerned must carry out necessary audit of condition of all these structures. So that the structures remain stable and no untoward incident takes place.”

In a subsequent letter, accessed by The Indian Express, PWD Secretary Arnab Roy had directed all zonal chief engineers to inspect and report on the condition of bridges and flyovers by July 13 with a final report to be prepared by July 16. In this report, the PWD failed to identify the deteriorating condition of the Majherhat bridge, which connects Kolkata with its southern fringe.

On July 16, the Alipore division of the PWD invited bids after for surface repairing of a 1.2-km stretch between Taratolla flyover, Majherhat bridge and DH Road. The work included patch repair and bituminous surfacing work at an estimated cost of Rs 16 lakh. The work was scheduled to start in August, and the Majerhat bridge collapsed before it could start.

Almost a month later, on August 10, the PWD issued a memorandum ordering the beautification and painting of bridges and flyovers. The memorandum stated “…it has been observed that the appearance of bridges and culverts are not up to the mark. Therefore it is decided that all bridges and culverts under the control of public works department, the government of West Bengal are to be painted after cleaning the same and repairing it if necessary.”

“It is also true that six months back, the PWD gave a health certificate for Majherhat during a routine meeting. After the 2016 Vivekananda flyover collapse, it was decided that every six months, the health of flyovers and bridges will be reviewed. We have asked for reports from Indevar Pandey (who was PWD secretary six months ago) and present secretary Roy,” said a Secretariat official.

Kolkata Majherhat bridge collpase brings back horrors of Vivekananda flyover tragedy Rescue operations at the site of the Majherhat bridge collapse.
PWD Minister Arup Biswas could not be reached for comment.

Incidentally, after the collapse of a portion of the under-construction Vivekanda flyover in Ganesh Talkies which killed 27 people and injured 80 on March 31 2016, the state government had called in Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RiTES) for a safety audit of bridges and flyovers.

RITES, however, was asked to audit of only five bridges and flyovers – Sealdah flyover, Baghajatin flyover, Amdebkar bridge, Bankim bridge in Howrah and Chingrighata flyover (a portion of which fell on March 4, 2013), according to sources.

Based on the report, the state government conducted repairs on the Baghajatin, Ambedkar, Chingrighata and Dhakuria bridges.

The All World Gayatri Pariwar, a spiritual group based here, on Thursday handed a Rs 1.25 crore cheque to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund to be used in flood relief in Kerala.

Pranav Pandya and Shail Bala Pandya of the group made the donation when they met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

They also briefed the Prime Minister about the work undertaken by the spiritual group in the relief and rehabilitation of the flood disaster.

(IANS)

Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor on Thursday described the Supreme Court decision decriminalising homosexuality as a “dawn of freedom” as the “government has no space in bedrooms”.

Reacting to the apex court ruling in favour of the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community in India, Tharoor said he was very pleased with the historic judgement.

“We allowed the government to interfere in our private lives but the apex court has stood up to uphold dignity of the people. This is not sex, this is freedom as government has no space in bedrooms as this is a private act between consenting adults. This is a dawn of freedom,” said Tharoor.

He went on to add that when he tried to move a private members bill in the Lok Sabha on two occasions, he was shouted down by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.

“I then said it’s only the judiciary that can do anything and through this judgement, it shames those BJP members who opposed this,” said Tharoor.

R. Renju, an LGBTIQ activist, expressed happiness and applauded the apex court for this huge game-changing verdict.

“I always felt proud to be an Indian, and now as we become the 27th country which legalises homosexuality I feel even more proud to be an Indian.

“If anyone who has followed the LGBTIQ community, this judgement has been made after studying the community’s needs in detail. If I love or like someone, it comes from the heart.

“Now I am extremely proud to be an LGBTIQ activist. It’s at this time that I remember how much my predecessors have suffered, especially at the hands of the police,” said Renju.

Former Communist Party of India-Marxist backed legislator and Lok Sabha member Sebastian Paul said with the country progressing so much in 157 years, a lot had changed between now and then when this law was framed. So this new directive was welcome.

(IANS)