A portion of an under-construction bridge in Telangana's Peddapalli district collapsed on Monday. The incident took place at around 9:45 PM following a strong wind in the area. Two concrete girders, out of five between two pillars about 100 feet apart, collapsed. No one sustained injuries due to the incident. "Luckily, a marriage party of 65 people on a bus passed by just one minute earlier and escaped being crushed by the concrete," Sirikonda Bakka Rao, who was the sarpanch of Odedu village, told NDTV. He was sarpanch of the village till his term lapsed two months ago.
The construction of the bridge was stopped due to issues with contractors. The work was projected to be completed in a year and was meant to reduce the distance between three towns—Manthani, Parakal, and Jammikunta—by about 50 km. According to locals, the contractor had stopped the work within a year or two due to pressure for commissions, and the government was not paying out his dues, as reported by NDTV.
"The cost of the project was escalated, and last year another ₹ 11 crore was added to the estimated cost without even 60 percent of the work being completed," said Sandeep Rao, a local, as quoted by NDTV. The construction of the bridge was taken up in 2016 at a cost of Rs 49 crore. Only half of the construction has been completed, as reported by Times Of India.
After receiving the information, the local police reached the spot, as per TOI. Earlier, heavy rainfall had caused some damage to the bridge that was being constructed at Odedu village.