Political slugfest over airport mishap in Odisha Capital

Bhubaneswar: Hours after a portion of the Link Building at the Bhubaneswar Airport collapsed, major political parties indulged in blame game today. While BJD termed the incident as unfortunate and asked BJP not to politicise the airport mishap issue, BJP saw some connections between the ruling party and the contractor who was awarded the Link Building construction work.

BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said, “The roof collapse is an unfortunate incident. We demand the deceased’s family should get adequate compensation and injured must get medical treatment free of cost. Unlike BJP, BJD doesn’t get involved in politics.”

Sasmit demanded a detailed probe must be carried out into the incident and action must be taken against persons responsible for it.

In his reaction, BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said, “Surprisingly when our party has not issued any statement on the mishap, BJD has started pointing fingers towards us. When a portion of Bomikhal bridge collapsed a few years back, we had hit the streets. The then Works Secretary was given a BJD ticket to contest Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency during recent polls.”

Mohapatra asked is there any connection between contractor Dilip Khatai and BJD or any bureaucrat is having links with the contractor. “It seems BJD is trying to shield the contractor. A probe should be launched to find out the contractor’s connection with ruling party and what other contracts he has bagged,” he said.

Demanding CBI probe into the incident and Rs 20 lakh compensation for the deceased’s family, Congress MLA Suresh Routray said the contractor should be arrested. “The Centre is completely responsible for the mishap,” he said.

“Had the mishap occurred during the day time, the number of casualties would have gone up,” the Congress MLA added.

Last night a portion of the Link Building connecting old and new Terminal of the Bhubaneswar airport collapsed killing one labourer and injuring several others.