‘Site not cordoned off before pitching heavy construction material’

Islamabad : The initial findings of an ongoing inquiry into the Bhara Kahu Bypass incident showed that the site was not cordoned off as a precautionary measure before pitching heavy construction material into the pillars.

When the pillars were being filled with construction material the vehicles were passing through the site and even pedestrians were also using this road during the process. A large truck was also seen passing through the site before the incident and some eyewitnesses claimed that it rubbed the shuttering installed by the contractor around the pillars.

Chief Commissioner Noorul Amin Mangal who is also chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has taken notice of the incident and ordered an inquiry. He directed that the eight-member investigation team, to be headed by Deputy Commissioner Arfan Nawaz, should identify the people responsible for this incident. It is pertinent to mention here that at least two labourers were killed while three others injured when shuttering of under-construction Bhara Kahu Bypass flyover collapsed early Saturday morning

The 5.6 km-long Bhara Kahu bypass (including a 1km flyover) starts from Murree Road at Malpur and culminates on Murree Road near the Jugi bus stop from where the flyover begins till the end of the local bazaar towards Murree.

An official has said the contractors usually pitch construction material into the pillars in parts but it was seen in this case that this process was being completed only in one go. He said, “It is not fair to say that the contractor was in a hurry to complete the project because the construction work is underway according to the set procedures. We are probing into the incident and will dig out the true facts in next few days.”