Majerhat bridge collapse: One killed, around 20 injured; Kolkata peak hour traffic hit; Mamata orders inquiry

Kolkata: In a terrifying repeat of the under-construction Vivekananda flyover collapse tragedy in March 2016, a portion of the Majerhat bridge gave away on Tuesday in Kolkata’s Alipore area leaving one person dead and at least 20 injured. Soon after the collapse, police and fire brigade personnel launched a massive rescue operation and pulled out the 25 injured from the debris and sent them to either SSKM Hospital or Calcutta Medical Research Institute for treatment. An official at the site of the mishap said at least 20 to 25 people had been rescued so far. “It is possible that not a lot of people got trapped under the collapsed part of the bridge, but we need to remove the debris to find out what is underneath,” the official said. [caption id=“attachment_5114181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A portion of the Majerhat road overbridge collapsed in Kolkata’s Alipore area. Image Courtesy: Sayantani Choudhury/101Reporters[/caption] An eyewitness said a few people in private cars and a minibus were trapped after they went down with the collapsed structure. While West Bengal Health Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said she had heard about five deaths in the Majerhat bridge collapse, this has not been confirmed yet. The 40-year-old bridge in the crowded Alipore area collapsed around 4.30 pm during rush hour over the railway tracks. The bridge runs over the Majerhat Railway Station and connects the city centre to Behala and other southern suburbs. Speaking from Siliguri, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the first priority now was to rescue the injured and those trapped in the debris. She also ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. “We are constantly monitoring the situation,” she said. “We are initiating an investigation so that everything can be found out, and we are taking steps on an emergency basis to rescue those who are trapped… Action will be taken against those whose negligence caused the accident. No one will be spared.” Unable to get a flight back from Siliguri on Tuesday, the chief minister is now expected to reach Kolkata on Wednesday. However, Mamata has announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who had surveyed the accident spot, said that the Majerhat bridge “deserved better maintenance”. “There was a report on a pit here for quite some time,” Tripathi said. “I don’t know whether the Public Works Department (PWD) noted it. The PWD and railway administration were responsible for maintaining it. The matter requires investigation.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolences and called the bridge collapse “deeply unfortunate”, and Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh said he would pray for the “speedy recovery of the injured”. He also assured Mamata of the Centre’s help, if required. President Ram Nath Kovind said he was “ sorry to learn” about the partial bridge collapse. After a portion of the Majerhat bridge collapsed on the tracks, train services along the Circular Railway and Sealdah-Budge Budge line were temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure, Eastern Railway spokesperson RN Mahapatra said. Thousands of people travelling during the peak hours were inconvenienced because of the incident. [caption id=“attachment_5114861” align=“alignright” width=“380”] Rescue operations on after the Majerhat bridge collapse in Kolkata’s Alipore area. PTI[/caption] Road traffic between Kolkata’s southwestern areas and South 24 Parganas district were also severely affected as the Majerhat road overbridge is a connector to the arterial Diamond Harbour Road. The Kolkata Traffic Police diverted traffic movement through Diamond Harbour Road in Taratala after the Majerhat bridge collapse. Traffic from various parts of South 24 Parganas and Behala were also diverted from the Diamond Park area, an officer said. Traffic towards southwest Kolkata and South 24 Parganas was diverted from Kidderpore and through the port area and Circular Garden Reach Road. Four teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), as well as the Central Armed Police Force, are at the site. A fire official said six fire tenders were pressed into service after the bridge caved in. NDRF director general Sanjay Kumar said earthmovers were being used to clear the rubble. “We have to take into account the safety aspect while clearing the debris”, he said. West Bengal minister Firhad Hakim said after the rescue efforts are completed, “we will undertake a technical inquiry”. Hakim, who is the urban development minister, said he could not confirm whether the committee set up to examine old bridges had given the Majerhat bridge a fit certificate. Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien had tweeted nearly immediately after the bridge collapsed. He said: “Watching scenes of the Majerhat bridge #Kolkata collapse  Devastating. Rescue teams, disaster management teams, Police CP, firefighters already at the spot. Locals join. Rescue operations on. Prayers for those affected. Difficult to gauge enormity of tragedy as yet looking at visuals.” Even as rescue operations continued, the BJP began its blame-game, accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of not focusing on the maintenance of the city’s infrastructure. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) questioned why the state government was not seeking the army’s help in the rescue operations. With inputs from agencies