Our Correspondent / Kolkata
One person has been killed and 19 injured after a portion of the Majerhat bridge in Kolkata collapsed this afternoon. Several people are feared trapped.
Many vehicles were crushed. Police, National Disaster Management team and Army are carrying rescue operation.
Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee has said that the state government will bear the cost of treatment of the injured admitted in hospitals. She said the police is investigating the matter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident.
“The collapse of a part of a bridge in Kolkata is deeply unfortunate. My thoughts are with the families of the victims. I pray that those who are injured recover at the earliest,” he wrote on Twitter.
West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who reached the site to take stock of the rescue operations, raised questions on the maintenance of the bridge.
“Bridge deserved better maintenance. There was a report on a pit here for quite some time; I don’t know whether PWD noted it. PWD and Railway administration had the responsibility to maintain it. The matter requires investigation,” said the Governor.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in opposition in the state, raised questions on the government over the tragedy.
“How many more bridges will be broken in Paschim Banga? Mere change of colour does not add any shade of development,” said state BJP president Dilip Ghosh.
“Be it a bridge, a dam, hospital or a Government office, Didimoni has only paid lip service to performance by painting them blue and white!” he said referring to the dire need of upgrade of the city’s infrastructure.
It may be recalled that twenty people were killed two years ago when an under construction Vivekanand flyover in Kolkata collapsed.