Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, on Saturday, criticised the state government saying that it is responsible for the collapse of an under construction bridge as part of the Thalassery-Mahe bypass project. Last week, the bridge being constructed at Nettur in Thalassery collapsed with three beams coming down.
Chennithala attributed responsibility of the bridge’s collapse to the ruling regime stating that the LDF government had included it as one of the achievements of the Left government.
The construction is carried out by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). No casualties were reported in the bridge’s collapse.
Chennithala said the state government had listed this as the achievement of the Left government, but, now "when it has collapsed, they have washed their hands off."
However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan retorted to Chennithala saying that the Opposition Leader was "careful enough not to blame the BJP and the centre for its faults."
"The beams have collapsed. They are not constructed as per the requirements. There is corruption in it. It's right that the project work is done by the National Highway Authority of India, but the state government too has responsibility," Chennithala told the media.
Public Works Department Minister G Sudhakaran has already sought a report on the issue.
Meanwhile, CM Pinarayi Vijayan said that the construction of the bypass was inaugurated by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in 2019 in which the state government's role was limited to acquisition of the land.
"The Opposition Leader is well aware of all the procedures in this regard. Our responsibility was to acquire the land, which we did. I wonder why he is saying all these baseless things. Even if the centre is at fault, the blame is on the Left government,” said the CM.
He also added that the UDF government had failed to acquire the land. The bypass construction was inaugurated on October 30, 2019.
According to reports, a Perumbavoor based company has the charge of the construction. The reason for the bridge’s collapse is yet to be found.