A section of the 150-meter bridge over the Wainganga River in Seoni district, Madhya Pradesh, has collapsed.
Bhopal:
A new bridge built over the Wainganga River in Seoni district, some 350 km from Bhopal, collapsed today – August 30, 2020 – its official completion date. Although its construction was completed a month earlier than expected, the 150-meter bridge had not even been inaugurated. However, the villagers had started to use the structure.
The before and after videos show that much of the bridge has collapsed and pillars protrude from the swollen river.
According to official documents, the bridge was built at a cost of Rs 3.7 crore as part of the Prime Minister’s rural road network program, PMGSY. Its construction began on September 1, 2018 and was due to be completed by August 30, 2020.
District collector Rahul Haridas ordered an investigation to determine guilt, saying appropriate action would be taken against those convicted.
So far, the collapse of this key bridge has affected connectivity between Sunwara and Bhimgarh villages of Seoni, which fall under the constituency of BJP lawmaker Rakesh Pal Singh.
Continuous rains have caused widespread destruction throughout Madhya Pradesh, particularly in the Narmada River belt where a flood-like situation has emerged. Following heavy rains, the Narmada River flows about 10 meters above its danger mark of 964 meters in the Hoshangabad district, 75 km south of Bhopal.
In the state capital, the famous Chirayu Hospital, a care center dedicated to Covid, was flooded when Upper Lake broke its banks.
120 of the state’s 251 reservoirs are full, requiring the opening of the dam gates to allow excess water to escape. Overall, the state received 815.2mm of rain through Saturday morning against an expected 743mm of rain.
