Nabrangpur: One labourer was killed and six others critically injured when an under-construction bridge collapsed in Odisha's Nabarangpur district on Sunday, police said.
Locals said that the under-construction bridge located at Talpadar in Umarkote block suddenly caved in when some workers were levelling the upper surface of the structure in the evening.
The labourers were buried under a heap of concrete and iron rods, they said.
The deceased was identified as Mahendra Mali. The six critically injured persons were admitted to the district hospital, a police officer said.
The bridge over Negi River was being built by a Bhubaneswar-based contractor under the Biju Setu Scheme of the Rural Development department.
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The bridge was scheduled to have been built at a cost of Rs 2.41 crore by March 2019 but the contractor missed the deadline, an official said.
Meanwhile, Development Commissioner P K Jena, who is also the in-charge of the Rural Development Department, directed the Nabarangpur collector to file criminal cases against the contractor and the officials inspecting the work.
He also asked the superintendent engineer based in Sunabeda and the engineer-in-chief, who is on a tour, to visit the site and take stock of the situation.
BJP National President Baijayant Jay Panda expressed anguish over the incident and said this has been happening with disturbing regularity in the state.
Panda tweeted, "Distressed by the death & injuries of labourers in Odisha's #Nabarangpur district from the collapse of an under-construction bridge: This has been happening with disturbing regularity in the state! Prayers for the departed soul & speedy recovery of the injured. Om Shanti."
With PTI inputs
