A section of an under-construction bridge in Telangana's Peddapalli district collapsed on Monday night, ringing an alarm among locals.
Two concrete girders, part of a series of five spanning between two pillars approximately 100 feet apart, collapsed around 9:45 pm following a powerful gust of wind in the area. Concerns now loom over the stability of the remaining three girders.
Fortunately, the collapse occurred moments after a marriage party of 65 people on a bus had passed by, narrowly avoiding a potential disaster, recounted Sirikonda Bakka Rao, the former sarpanch of Odedu village located just 600 meters away.
The bridge, stretching nearly one kilometre across the Manair river, was inaugurated in 2016 by the then Telangana assembly Speaker S. Madhusudhana Chary and local MLA Putta Madhu.
An allocation of nearly ₹49 crore was sanctioned for its construction with the aim of reducing the distance between three towns – Manthani, Parakal, and Jammikunta – by approximately 50 km.
The bridge was intended to connect Garmillapallu in Tekumatla mandal in Bhupalpalli to Odededu in Peddapalli.
However, construction faced setbacks, with the contractor reportedly halting work within a year or two due to financial pressures stemming from outstanding commissions and delayed payments from the government, as reported by local sources.
Notably, the same contractor had previously constructed a bridge in Vemulawada that was washed away during heavy rains in 2021, according to Rao.
In the absence of a completed bridge, villagers resorted to utilising a makeshift mud road underneath the structure for the past five years.
Sandeep Rao, another local resident, highlighted concerns over the project's escalating costs, noting that an additional ₹11 crore was allocated last year despite less than 60 per cent of the work being completed.
The collapse of the bridge section has prompted authorities to reassess the construction project and address the safety concerns raised by residents.
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