Gujarat CM suspends 4 engineers after Vadodara bridge collapse

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday suspended four engineers of the state’s roads and buildings department in connection with the bridge collapse on Mahisagar river in Vadadora district a day earlier that has resulted in 16 deaths while some persons are missing.

CM Patel, who handles the roads and buildings department, had asked experts to prepare a report on the repairs, inspections and quality checks conducted at the bridge, and the decision to suspend the four engineers was taken on the basis of this report, a government release said.

Those suspended with immediate effect are Executive Engineer N. M. Nayakawala, Deputy Executive Engineers U.C. Patel and R.T. Patel as well as Assistant Engineer J.V. Shah, the release informed.

The CM has ordered department officials to immediately conduct intensive inspections of other bridges in the state in view of the incident, the release added.

Several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar river after a portion of the four-decade-old bridge, connecting Anand and Vadodara districts, collapsed near Gambhira village close to Padra town of Vadodara on Wednesday morning.

“So far, 16 bodies have been recovered, while three to four persons are still missing,” Vadodara district Superintendent of Police Rohan Anand said during the day.

“The search and rescue operation is still on,” he said.

Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya has said earlier that National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams are conducting a search in the river to find out survivors, if any, or bodies of the victims.