Connect with us
हिंदी اردو
Saturday,27-July-2024
Breaking News

Maharashtra

Maharashtra has 35K bridges and their upkeep poses nightmarish challenge

Published

2 years ago

on

Maharashtra has a stupendous 35,000-plus big and small bridges on roads in village, towns, cities, state or national highways, posing mind-boggling challenges for their regular upkeep and maintenance, with multiple agencies involved, but recording barely 100 structures crashing since 2000, top officials said.

As per government data, under the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) jurisdiction, there are 146 small, 105 big and five long bridges (total 256) from the pre-Independence era, some dating back to over 350 years and still functional.

In the post-Independence era, the state recorded massive development since 1957, with around 16,000 small, 2100 big and 100 long (total 18,200) bridges being constructed.

Besides, there are some 12,000, including 2,000 major bridges, on the national highways crisscrossing the state, an estimated 4,000 (total 16,000) in various civic bodies’ jurisdictions, like some 450-odd in Mumbai, not counting another huge number of bridges on the railway networks.

Despite the huge numbers of bridges, in the past 22 years, barely around 100 medium or small have crashed – 75 percent of them comprising masonry design and the rest raft design – in different parts of the state.

The worst crash was the washout of 106-year-old British-era masonry bridge on the heavily-flooded Savitri River near Mahad in Ratnagiri on August 2, 2016, which swept away two ST buses and around 10 other private vehicles with the death toll touching 40.

There have been other smaller crashes in Mumbai and other parts of the state in the past two decades though with lesser casualties or fatalities.

As per Indian Road Congress (IRC) norms, a “small bridge” spans 06-60 metres, a “big bridge” is 60-200 metres and a “long bridge” is 200 metres plus and can go upto a few kms in length, each posing unique challenges for their upkeep and safety.

These bridges comprise a variety of designs, architecture styles and materials depending on their location, whether linking hills, mountains, passing over rivers, streams, drains (nullah), creeks, the sea (the Rajiv Gandhi Bandra Worli Sea Link or the upcoming Mumbai Trans Harbour Link), flyovers, road over-bridge, foot over-bridge, etc.

“There are prescribed SOPs for checks, routine, pre-monsoon and post-monsoon maintenance for all bridges, but with a staff of around 5,000, its possible to cover only around 35 per cent of the bridges in a year,” revealed a senior PWD officer, requesting anonymity.

As per the SOPs, any initial complaints go to the concerned local PWD office which sends out teams to inspect, and if there are serious problems, specialised team with experts from within and outside (like IITs, IIE, etc.) examine it scientifically, said the officer, who has personally inspected around 1,000 bridges in the past two decades in some of the most hazardous terrain.

Then, the cumbersome work of making reports, proposals, budget estimates, sourcing the funds, setting the time-frame, etc, takes place, and again depending on the urgency of the work, it may or may not be prioritised as paucity of finance remains the biggest hurdle.

A former PWD Chief Engineer of Bridges had suggested to the state government and Union Minister for Roads & Highways Nitin Gadkari to rope in the 30,000 students from civil engineering colleges studying in their two final years to help in the inspection works.

“They can form a part of the local PWD inspection teams and theoretically can inspect all the 35,000-bridges in the state in just a couple of days. This exercise can be done twice a year to reveal all the maintenance flaws and potential risks to any structure,” he said.

The students would be guided by the PWD experts, and it would have proved an invaluable academic field exercise with some incentives like grace marks or extra grades in their exams, etc, but there was no movement on his suggestion, rued the ex-CE.

Prescribing a regular “good health check-up” for all bridges, especially the old ones, a senior Highway Department officer appreciated the Indian Railways for their “constant vigil and dedicated teams carrying out daily, weekly, monthly inspections or biannual surveys of all their bridges” to ensure safety of the hundreds of trains hurtling around the country with passengers and cargo.

“Unfortunately, this zest is severely lacking among the states’ PWDs and virtually non-existent for the national highways authority, though the local civic bodies barely pass out on this count,” the officer said.

Touching on the Savitri River bridge crash, the PWD officer said it was nicknamed a “green bridge” as its fa�ade was completely covered with shrubs, bushes, creepers and small plants – but spelling a “red alert” from the safety aspect.

“Such overgrowth is rarely taken into account, another lurking danger is the dredging of sand from the water-bed in the vicinity, blatantly violating norms which weaken the bridge foundations and make it prone to a crash, overloading during peak hours which hasten the wear-and-tear, allowing vehicles to ply even when the flood levels touch or cross the red level marks, as it happened in the Savitri River case,” he said.

Officers from the Highways Department, PWD, civic bodies and others ruled that “unless regular inspection and maintenance” is carried out for all bridges – majority are already over 40-50 years old – there can be repetitions of the recent Morbi (141 dead) or the 2003 Daman & Diu (26 dead) type tragedies, with more risks added as new bridges come up practically every month in the massive expansion of the roads and railways in the country.

The inspection tasks are now considerably easier with the applications of computers, drones, satellites or other modern gadgets to scan the bridge health without physical presence, though the latest technological advancements come at a high price and are deployed on hardly one percent of all the structures in the state, the officials said.

Related Tags:

Maharashtra

‘Meltdown Of Worst Kind’: Sena UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi Hits Back At X User Accusing Her Of Humiliating Pune BJP MP For Speaking In Marathi In RS

Published

13 hours ago

on

July 26, 2024

By

Shiv Sena UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, who presided over the Rajya Sabha session on Thursday, has addressed allegations of attempting to “humiliate” Pune MP Dr. Medha Vishram Kulkarni for speaking in Marathi instead of English. The allegations were made by @MrSinha_, a ‘Hindu rights activist’ who criticised Chaturvedi for allegedly showing bias against Marathi speakers.

Chaturvedi took to X to refute these claims and said that Dr. Kulkarni spoke in Marathi without interruption. She claimed that Dr Kulkarni was repeatedly asked to sit down by her own ally, which she said was an attempt to show disrespect towards the chair. Chaturvedi also criticised @MrSinha_ for lacking an understanding of parliamentary procedures, advising him to review the rules of the Rajya Sabha.

In her post on X, Chaturvedi wrote, “This pawpaw champ bhakt is truly having a meltdown of the worst kind. Dr. Medha Kulkarni and Rajni Patil ji both spoke in Marathi and without interruption, barring when her own ally sitting in the front row had a hissy fit and asked her to sit down multiple times so that he could be disrespectful to the chair. Also paw paw champ, understand parliamentary proceedings in the RS and the rule book. Cry some more.”

@MrSinha_ had earlier criticised Chaturvedi, questioning her respect for Marathi as a language and accusing her of being disrespectful towards the Pune MP.

“Uddhav Thackeray’s RS MP Priyanka Chaturvedi tried to humiliate the MP from Pune, Maharashtra because she was speaking in Marathi but not her “posh” language English? She kept shouting at her…  What does she think of herself? And what happened to UT’s Marathi ashmita?” @MrSinha_ 

Meanwhile, many wondered how Chaturvedi was made to preside over the Rajya Sabha, a chair on which we usually see the Vice President of India. 

As per the rules of the Parliament, in the absence of the Vice President of India, who serves as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the responsibility of presiding over sessions falls to the Deputy Chairman or a panel of Voice Chairpersons.

Chaturvedi, a member of this panel, was tasked with the role during the session. Her varied approach to presiding, which included moments of stern reprimand and visible enthusiasm, has been noted by many on social media.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Mumbai: Central Railway GM Inspects CSMT Lobby After 150 Dead Rats Found; Promises Quick Renovation

Published

14 hours ago

on

July 26, 2024

By

Mumbai: Central Railway GM Inspects CSMT Lobby After 150 Dead Rats Found; Promises Quick Renovation

Mumbai: On Friday, General Manager of Central Railway, RK Yadav, conducted an inspection of the motorman and guard lobby at CSMT amid serious cleanliness concerns. This visit comes in response to allegations that approximately 150 dead rats had been discovered in the lobby, highlighting significant issues with hygiene and pest control.

Sources indicate that the foul smell from the dead rats had forced motormen and guards to work outside the lobby for several days. In response, Central Railway has commenced renovation work on the affected area, with completion anticipated by Monday.

During his visit, GM Yadav addressed the staff’s concerns and assured them that the renovation would be completed promptly. The GM’s inspection also included a review of the ongoing extension project for Platforms 13 and 14, which aims to enhance capacity and passenger experience. Additionally, he evaluated the newly inaugurated toilets in the suburban concourse, which were recently renovated with support from the Dmart Foundation.

“The visit underscores Central Railway’s commitment to improving infrastructure and facilities at CSMT, striving to ensure operational efficiency and a better environment for both staff and passengers” said an official of CR.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Mumbai: X User Booked For Derogatory Posts Against Maha Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis

Published

17 hours ago

on

July 26, 2024

By

Mumbai: X User Booked For Derogatory Posts Against Maha Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: A case has been registered against a user of the social media platform ‘X’ for allegedly posting derogatory memes about Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, police reportedly stated on Friday. The complaint was lodged at Khadakpada police station in Thane district under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for promoting enmity between different groups and public mischief.

X User Posts Morphed Pics With Derogatory Texts

The complaint specifies that the ‘X’ handle @gajabhauX has been creating and sharing derogatory memes featuring morphed photographs of Fadnavis since July 19. The posts contain morphed pictures of Fadnavis portraying Afzal Khan, Aurangzeb and other Mughal personalities.

The posts also contain texts having use of derogatory language against the Deputy CM considering him as the evil villain responsible for all the bad that is happening in the state. The complainant reportedly stated that these posts have created a sense of dissatisfaction and insecurity among people.

Case Filed In Thane

A case was registered on Thursday at Khadakpada police station in Thane district under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for promoting enmity between different groups and public mischief. The police are currently investigating the matter, and no arrests have been made yet.

Fadnavis Reacts To Allegations By Anil Deshmukh

Meanwhile, Devendra Fadnavis recently responded to the allegations of Anil Deshmukh that three years back a close associate of Fadanvis had offered him to make allegations against Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Ajit Pawar and Anil Parab in a false case, in return he was assured te be set free from ED and CBI inquiry.

Fadnavis while replying to the allegations warned him that he doesn’t spare anyone who troubles him unnecessarily. Fadanvis said “I never do such politics. I don’t trouble anyone unnecessarily. I want to tell Deshmukh that his party leaders have given me video clips, wherein he was seen saying bad words against Uddhav Thacekray and Sharad Pawar and Sachin Waze. If any one is making false allegations against me, I will not keep quiet and make those clips viral. I never speak without evidence.”

He further said that the Chief Justice of Bombay high court directed to register a case against Deshmukh now Deshmukh is on bail. “CBI chargesheet is saying how pressure was created to put Girish Mahajan behind the bar under a false case. I had given evidence to the CBI and it shows how the MVA government had tried to invoke mocca against opposition leaders.”

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending