Engineers held responsible for poor supervision of CSMT foot overbridge structural audit allege negligence by Veetrag Enterprises, which carried out the 'cosmetic renovation' work in 2016
The bridge collapse killed six and injured 31. File Pic
While the blame game continues over the CSMT foot overbridge collapse, some of the BMC engineers held responsible for the poor supervision of the structural audit have now raised allegations against Veetrag Enterprises - the contractor who carried out the 'cosmetic renovation' work in 2016 - for failing to take stock of the condition of the structure at the time.
ADVERTISEMENT
While BMC's vigilance department inquired into the role of the repair work done by RPS Infrastructure in 2013, it has clearly left out any mention of the work done by Veetrag in 2016 from the preliminary enquiry report.
The report
The report, issued by civic chief Ajoy Mehta, had held Professor DD Desai's Associated Engineering Consultants responsible for carrying out the structural audit in 'an irresponsible and negligent manner', and RPS Infrastructure for carrying out repairs that weren't 'up to the mark'. The enquiry also placed the blame on three junior engineers, a retired deputy chief engineer and a retired chief engineer. While two engineers have been suspended, the remaining three civic officials will face a full-fledged departmental enquiry.
One of the accused BMC engineers pointed out that it was unfair to leave Veetrag out of the ambit of the enquiry since the company had carried out work on the bridge long after the repair work was done in 2013. File Pic
Weakening bridge
One of the accused BMC engineers pointed out that it was unfair to leave Veetrag out of the ambit of the enquiry since the company had carried out work on the bridge long after the repair work was done in 2013. The accused engineers said it was unlikely that the repairs carried out in 2013 were faulty since the bridge was standing for six years after that.
The engineers also claimed that while carrying out the renovation work in 2016 for keeping the bridge in sync with the heritage look of the area, Veetrag had added more filling between the slab and the fresh tiles, thus putting more weight on the structure which was already weak due to corrosion.
"The contractor altered the level of the tiles and he should have checked the structural stability of the bridge before doing so. The earlier guarantee is over if another contractor carries out work on the bridge after," said an engineer. Interestingly, while the repair work of plastering, painting and minor structural repairs was done at a cost of Rs 8 lakh, the renovation work cost BMC around Rs 16 lakh. According to Veertag's purchase order, new tiles were laid and the colour of the bridge was changed in the work amounting to about Rs 16 lakh. The work done by RPS included 1.43 tonnes of structural steel work, whereas according to sources, 100 tonnes of steel has been used in the bridge. They were also tasked with painting and adding hand railing. However, the structural changes or repairs to the flooring or base of the structure have not been mentioned.
Civic chief's approval
Another official held responsible in the report further alleged that the idea to renovate the FOB was taken up by the A ward office, headed by assistant municipal commissioner, Kiran Dighavkar. He had approached the bridges department in 2016, citing Mehta's approval for the project. "We were simply informed that the project was being carried out. We weren't asked to check the structural stability of the bridge before carrying out the renovation work and since Dighavkar already had the commissioner's approval, we couldn't have raised any objections either," said the official.
Rubbishing all the allegations made by the accused engineers, a civic official said, "As the bridge was shabby with broken tiles, the flooring was replaced. Tiles of the exact same weight were laid and there was no change to that. How is it possible that the bridge could not take the load after three years, despite being fine for all those years? These are just allegations to save themselves and divert from the main issue of them neglecting their duty." mid-day tried to contact Dighavkar and Veetrag Enterprises but both remained unavailable for comment.
Mehta says
Mehta said the preliminary report had only focused on the glaring errors made in the case, adding others will be held accountable as well, indicating that the role of Veetrag Enterprises will also be examined. "The enquiry is being done in two parts. The first part was the preliminary report, which looked at the absolutely apparent faults found on the records; the detailed enquiry will take time. No one will be given a clean chit until the final enquiry is completed," he said.
Engineers to demand papers
Meanwhile, some of the engineers are planning to ask for relevant papers to ascertain the facts of the case, including the defect liability period mentioned in the contract with RPS Infrastructure.
BMC is yet to issue notices to the engineers; allegations levelled against them will be resolved in the detailed departmental enquiry, which would be carried out by Vivek More, the chief engineer of the vigilance department.
Bridge, staircase at Dadar stn to be repaired
A railway inspection on Saturday found that the BMC bridge at Dadar station (Phool Market bridge) was in dire need of repairs and it has been decided that the ramp at platform 1 and staircase at platform 2/3 would be closed temporarily for the safety of passengers. While the staircase will be closed for 13 days for repairs and strengthening, between March 17 and 29, the platform 1 ramp will be closed for 90 days to be rebuilt between March 17 and June 16. WR officials said the bridge will, however, remain open to those who want to go from east to west. The Central Railway, meanwhile, has said that it has taken up eight bridges for demolition and dismantling at Diva, Bhandup, Govandi, Tilaknagar, Vikhroli, Wadala, Vidyavihar and Kurla Kasaiwada. Alternative bridges have been built at each of the stations.
Also Read: Mumbai: Civic chief Ajoy Mehta orders re-auditing of 38 bridges
Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
