A portion of an under-construction bridge in Telangana’s Peddapalli district collapsed on Monday night, fortunately avoiding any casualties. Two concrete girders out of five between two pillars, approximately 100 feet apart, collapsed around 9.45 pm after strong winds blew in the area. Locals fear that the other three girders may also collapse soon.
The nearly one-kilometer bridge across the Manair River was inaugurated in 2016 and was intended to connect three towns – Manthani, Parakal, and Jammikunta – reducing the distance between them by about 50 kilometers. However, the work on the bridge was reportedly halted within a year or two due to payment disputes between the contractor and the government.
Despite being incomplete, villagers had been using a mud road under the bridge for the past five years. The cost of the project has escalated over the years, and an additional Rs 11 crore was added to the estimated cost last year, even though less than 60% of the work has been completed.
The contractor had reportedly stopped the work within a year or two as he was under pressure for commissions and the government was not paying out his dues, locals said. The same contractor had built a bridge in Vemulawada that was washed away during heavy rain in 2021, according to Sirikonda Bakka Rao, who was sarpanch of Odedu village until two months ago.
A marriage party of 65 people on a bus narrowly escaped the collapse, having passed by just one minute earlier.
