The West Bengal government has planned to carry out a ‘health check-up’ of all 2,109 bridges in the state, after the collapse of a nearly century-old suspension bridge in Gujarat, which left over 130 people dead.
The state public works department minister Pulak Roy, during a meeting with senior officials and engineers on Tuesday, instructed them to inspect the condition of the bridges and file reports with necessary observations by November-end.
Roy directed the engineers to take immediate measures “if the survey finds problems in any of the bridges”, a senior official stated.
At the meeting, a decision was taken to repair at the earliest the Coronation Bridge in Siliguri, and the Birendra Sasmal Setu across Kangsabati.
Necessary work to repair the Santragachi bridge, too, will commence from November 10.
“Two new bridges will be constructed over Kangsabati and Shilabati rivers,” the official added.
The minister, when contacted, told PTI: “After seeing what happened in Gujarat, we decided to carry out health check-ups of all bridges in the state. We cannot take chances.”
