Girders of under-construction flyover collapse

Project's executing agency says no injuries or casualties happened

ISLAMABAD:

Girders of a flyover of the under-construction Bhara Kahu underpass collapsed on Thursday.

The incident occurred less than a week after the same bridge’s shuttering came apart, which left two labourers dead and eight others injured.

The Capital Development Authority, the executing agency of the multi-billion project, confirmed the incident saying no injuries or casualties happened.

Islamabad police also said that the girders of the under-construction bridge collapsed.

In the CCTV footage that circulated on social media, the massive concrete girders of the flyover could be seen tipping over before hitting one another and eventually caving in entirely.

Sources said that at least five giant girders fell from the top of the bridge to the ground.

The incident spread panic among the people present at the scene. All labourers working on the bypass remained safe.

As the so-called robust girders fell down, they became piles of unusable debris, which not only exposed the poor-quality material being used for the underpass project but also caused the additional cost to the national exchequer. As these girders now will have to be rebuilt, the project would also face an inordinate delay.

Ass heavy girders fell to the ground and blocked a portion of the road, and traffic going and coming from Murree and Islamabad was diverted to an alternate route.

CDA Chairman Noor-ul-Amin Mengal, who reached the spot, warned that “departmental action will be taken against the officials concerned for the negligence.”

He said that the accident occurred due to a “crane slipping”. “The safety and health of the labourers cannot be compromised at any cost,” he said.

Sources said that since March 23 was given the deadline for the completion of work on the project, the girders were hurriedly placed without proper homework, which led to the incident.

It is also worth noting as the girders fell to the ground, corrosion of steel reinforcement occurred as the cement of the concrete spread all around.

The incident also put a question mark on the quality of the material being used in the construction.

Earlier, the shuttering of the same Bhara Kahu bypass suddenly fell down, as a result of which two labourers were killed and eight others injured. Earlier too, the CDA high-ups had ordered an inquiry incident promising due diligence in carrying out the project. But as a result of the negligence and carelessness of the CDA engineering wing, five girders collapsed on Thursday.

The project has now become a symbol of fear and dread for the labourers working there and the common people who road around.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the CDA's engineering department will have to re-examine the construction standards of the project to ensure that no substandard materials were used because the project was still in the stage of completion and they have still time to fix shortcomings.

The CDA chairman told The Express Tribune that an investigation committee has been formed and a report has been sought within 24 hours. He said that after the last girder was installed, it tilted and lost balance and struck the other four girders that fell to the ground.

He said that the investigation report of the previous incident has been received. “The first incident was the result of a traffic management error, the footage of which clearly showed a heavy truck repeatedly crashing through the shuttering of the bypass,” he said adding that he will soon meet the Islamabad police chief to take strict departmental action against traffic police officials for their negligence.

Amin said that action will be taken against the officials of the traffic police in the first incident.

He said that there was no hurry to complete the project by March 23. This project will be completed smoothly and will provide convenience to the people, he said adding that health and safety of the people "is a priority for him and he would never compromise on that."

The CDA chairman said that departmental action will be taken against officials concerned for the negligence

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2023.