Centering structures of two under-construction bridges collapse in Chhattisgarh's Durg

The centering structures of two bridges being built at separate places in Chhattisgarh's Durg district collapsed and swept away due to a sudden rise in the river water level following intermittent rainfall in the last few days, officials said on Thursday.

Both the incidents took place on Wednesday on the Shivnath river and no harm was caused to the work carried out so far in both the bridges, an official of the Public Works Department (PWD) said.

While one incident took place in Nandini area, another occurred in Dhamdha area of the district following which the authorities issued a notice to the construction company involved in the work, he said.

''The contract of construction of both the bridges was allotted to M/s Amar Infrastructure by the PWD. At Sagni Ghat in Dhamdha, a 400-metre bridge is being built at a cost of Rs 16.40 crore,'' he said. Of the 17 spans of the bridge, the construction of 14 has been completed and staging and centering for the 15th one was set up on the river bed, he said.

In view of the delay in slab work and the onset of monsoon, the contractor was asked to remove the structure. But due to heavy rainfall, the contractor could not do so and the structure collapsed after water level of the river rose on Wednesday afternoon, he said.

Around 75 per cent construction of the bridge has been completed, the official said.

In the second incident, the staging and centering structure for one span of the under-construction bridge being erected at cost of Rs 15.81 crore, in Nandini area collapsed, he said.

This bridge is being constructed on Ravelidih-Arasnara-Pathariya Doma Road, he said.

Denying some media reports which said that portion of under-construction bridge in Dhamdha area has been washed away, the official said no harm was caused to the construction work done so far in both the bridges.