Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jun 10:

Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari today said that the issues pertaining to cracks appearing in the Samjajpur over bridge at Odisha’s Puri would be fixed by June 30.

Nitin Gadkari

Speaking to reporters at the state headquarters of BJP on the occasion of Vikas Utsav, the Minister said that the repair work on the bridge located along NH-316 would begin on June 20 and would be completed by June 30.

“Last year, we had to inaugurate the over bridge in a hurry keeping Nabakalebara in mind. I was under pressure from the State Government and the MPs approached me on this context. The soil there was not good. The earth caved in following a compression there,” said Gadkari.

“The repair work will begin on June 20 and will be completed by June 30. I have been briefed about the technical issues; however, I would get it verified. There has been no compromise in the quality,” he added.

Notably, after National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) wrote a letter to Puri collector saying that the bridge might collapse if not repaired soon, a meeting was held today between Puri MLA Maheswar Mohanty and Collector Aravind Agrawal. The district administration directed NHAI to start the repair work as soon as possible following the meeting.

Meanwhile, the issue took political colours as PCC President Prasad Harichandan visited the spot and demanded a CBI enquiry into the construction works undertaken during Nabakalebara.