Varanasi : A day after the beam of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi collapsed, killing at least 18 people, Managing Director of Uttar Pradesh Bridge Corporation Rajan Mittal held thunderstorms responsible for the mishap.
While speaking to media, Mittal said, “We think the lock of the bearing underneath the beam broke due to recent thunderstorms, which led to the accident.’’ But there was no word on the alleged use of substandard raw materials. And his solution to preventing any such mishaps was equally simplistic: The traffic should be diverted from the construction site.
In his April 7 speech in Madarihat near the Torsha river, PM Modi made a reference to the statement by the official of the company building the flyover that it had been an act of God. The PM said, “This is not an act of God, it is an act of fraud.” He was hinting that Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress had been complacent or been negligent leading to the flyover collapse
In another shameful incident, a family that lost five of its members in the Varanasi flyover collapse was allegedly asked to pay a bribe of Rs 300 per body for conducting post-mortem.
Jaunpur-based Jitendra Yadav, who lost five family members, has released a video in which staff of Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, were seen allegedly accepting the bribe.
Meanwhile, the police have filed a first information report (FIR) at the Sigra police station against officials of the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation.