The collapse of an under-construction bridge over Chambal river in Kota is prima-facie a case of "human negligence," the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has said, giving a clean chit to the construction companies in the incident which has claimed at least 28 lives.
Thursday's bridge collapse under East-West Corridor project "is prima-facie a case of human negligence with little possibility of technical fault or of the design" Subash Patel, director in technical board of NHAI told reporters during his visit to the rescue site yesterday.
Giving a clean chit to the two construction companies -- Gammon India and Hyundai -- Patel said, "We express our trust and confidence in their capacity" and that "the same companies will carry on the work."
Meanwhile, a committee of experts has been set up to investigate the reasons behind the collapse. The rescue work is expected to continue for over one-and-a-half-month as 8,000 tonnes of concrete had fallen into the river with the iron structure of the bridge, he said, adding the hanging bridge project would now be completed by 2011.
NHAI has also announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the next of the kin of the deceased, he said.
A senior official of Gammon India, Rohit Modi, said Rs 2 lakh ex gratia will be given to the family of the deceased.
With recovery of five more bodies from the debris today, the death toll has risen to 28. Two of the deceased were yet to be identified, police said. PTI
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