The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Experts question flyover contractor

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 13, 2007
ePaper

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Experts question flyover contractor

Special Correspondent

The panel will look into all details, including inspection, quality control reports

HYDERABAD: All the personnel involved in the construction, supervision and quality checks of the Punjagutta flyover which is under construction were put to close questioning by the technical experts committee here on Wednesday.

The Government appointed panel headed by the Chief Engineer of Roads & Buildings, K. Siva Reddy, and four other structural engineering experts went to the mishap site where the girders and scaffoldings collapsed on Sunday night killing two persons.

They inspected the area including the trench dug by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) between the up ramp of the second span and the piers of the main flyover for laying pipeline which is said to have caused all the trouble to begin with.

The committee with JNTU’s Prof. N.V. Raman Rao, Osmania University’s Prof. Ramesh Reddy, ex-IIT Chennai’s R. Rajagopalan and National Academy of Construction’s ex-DG Maj.Gen. C.J. Chari as members inspected the length and breadth of the flyover since it also has a mandate of checking the construction quality other than find out reasons for the mishap.

The site tour lasted for more than an hour and later, the team is said to have grilled the parties concerned on the accident - officials of the Gammon India, the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor, the GHMC engineers and also the project consultant.

“It is an independent enquiry and they will be looking into all the details including the periodic inspection and quality control reports. We are also very much interested in knowing if whether things were done right so far,” said a senior official.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail