Varanasi flyover collapse: UP Setu Nigam's top officials could face severe action

PTI Photo

Varanasi: Top officials of Uttar Pradesh Setu Nigam, including recently removed Managing Director Rajan Mittal, could face severe action after a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed on Tuesday killing 18 and injuring many more.

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An inquiry committee constituted after the tragedy has reportedly found Mittal and several top-ranking officials of UP Setu Nigam guilty of negligence. Mittal has already been removed from office and now faces possible legal action against him. Over half a dozen officials too face the heat.

The three-member committee headed by APC Raj Pratap Singh submitted its report on Thursday in which, according to sources, Mittal and five other engineers were found guilty. The report apparently put the blame on negligence on the part of UP Setu Nigam officials.

The state-run corporation, which had once earned kudos bagging projects not only in other states but also in Iraq, Yemen and Nepal, has been at the receiving end recently, a senior official of the PWD department was quoted as saying by PTI. In 2010, the 1086.62 meter Chillgahat bridge connecting Fatehpur with Bundelkhand region, built at the cost of Rs 650 crore, developed cracks within 13 days of the inauguration, he recalled. In 2016, a cavity developed on the Lohia bridge in Lucknow, providing an arterial link between posh and VIP areas on either side of the Gomti river.