Majerhat bridge collapse: Goods vehicles with 20 or more wheels to be banned in Kolkata Port area

Kolkata: In the wake of the Majerhat bridge collapse, the West Bengal government put a ban on the movement of goods vehicles having 20 wheels or more from the Kolkata Port area from September 10, a notice from the office of the Additional Commissioner of Police confirmed.

The decision has been taken following the Majerhat Bridge collapse incident, which claimed the lives of three people and injured many. The move came on Friday as the government held them responsible for 'unsustainable damages, the collapse of bridges or culverts or flyovers'.

A letter addressed to the chairman of the Kolkata Port Trust said, "In reference to the decision taken by the Government of West Bengal in view of the impending situation due to collapse of the Majerhat Bridge and the resulting traffic situation, it is requested that all goods vehicles having 20 wheels or more should not be allowed to enter in to or exit from the Kolkata Port Area."

However, the letter noted that heavy goods will be allowed to exit the port over the weekend.

A notice from the State Transportation Department stated that Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi has imposed a restriction on the movement of goods vehicles having 20 wheels or more across the state with immediate effect, with the exception for the "cases where specific permission is granted by the State Government or its authorised representatives."

"It is essential that reasonable restrictions must be imposed on goods carrying heavy vehicles across the state for preventing the untoward incidents resulting front sudden unsustainable damages/collapse of bridges/culverts/flyovers etc," the notice read.

A section of a 50-year-old Majerhat bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road in south Kolkata collapsed Tuesday evening, snuffing out one life, trapping several people and crushing many vehicles.

According to a senior official of the state PWD department, the government was about to undertake repair work on the decrepit Majerhat bridge and a tender was floated in this regard but it got delayed due to bureaucratic wrangles.

This was the third bridge collapse in the city since 2013.

An under-construction flyover collapsed in crowded Burrabazar area, the wholesale business hub of the city, on March 31, 2016, claiming 26 lives, while on March 4, 2013, a road bridge had collapsed in Ultadanga area in the eastern part of the city, but there was no casualty. 

(With inputs from agencies)