CHENNAI: Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday said that the Government would annul the contract signed by the Karur Municipality with an agency, which constructed the road bridge on a `build-operate-transfer' (BOT) basis across the Amaravathi river.

Toll collection from users of the bridge would be stopped with immediate effect in public interest, she said in a statement here. The Government would bring the bridge under its control and take steps to remove the defects in construction after assessing its stability.

Ms. Jayalalithaa said the Government, which had been giving top priority to the safety of the people, had set up a fact-finding team comprising experts to go into the technical aspects of the design, construction and quality standards adopted in building the bridge and maintaining it, as it had suffered damage within five years of construction.

Ms. Jayalalithaa recalled that during her visit to Karur district on November 28, she had expressed shock over the damage to the bridge. The experts committee pointed out deficiencies in construction and maintenance of the bridge. The high level panel headed by the Chief Secretary accepted the committee's report.

The foundation of the concrete abetment and concrete side retaining wall along the Dindigul approach road, besides two concrete piers, had been laid on sand instead of a rocky base. Erosion in the foundation of these walls owing to flash floods in the Amaravathi on November 24 resulted in the collapse of the first 20 metres of the retaining wall along the approach road, damaging more than half of the road.

Contractual obligation

Though the agency had a contractual obligation to maintain the bridge for 14 years after construction, it had failed to examine the structure well ahead of the onset of the monsoon and remove encroachments and blockages up to 200 metres on either side. This resulted in the disruption of flow through the last six vents on the Karur side and the last two on the Dindigul side, which were blocked by sand and debris, she said.

The Chief Minister ordered steps to strengthen the foundation of the abetment on the Dindigul side by filling the eroded portion with boulders and construct a new side retaining wall with its foundation on a rocky base after removing the collapsed wall to prevent accidents.

As part of the renovation, the blocks would be removed to ensure uninterrupted flow of water. Structures to be built on the last three vents on the Dindigul side would protect the foundation of the 23rd and 24th piers. The damaged portion of the approach road would be repaired. Structures to regulate the water flow and removal of encroachments on the Karur side to restore the breadth of the river to its original level were also planned.

The bridge would be constantly monitored to ascertain the efficiency of the renovation work, she said.

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