Accidents in Uttar Pradesh -- be they related to bridges, roads or fire -- have an extremely short shelf life.
Whenever an accident occurs, inquiries, probes and audits are ordered and the urgency is maintained only for a few days after which the issue is conveniently brushed under the carpet
After the collapse of a nearly 100-year-old suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the inspection and examination of all kinds of bridges in the state.
He asked the officials of the public works department and Uttar Pradesh Bridge Corporation Limited to carry out an audit of all suspension bridges, the ones supported by cables and others that are used by motor vehicles.
The report, when it is submitted, will be reviewed by the chief minister's office.
In Uttar Pradesh, the last incident of bridge collapse was reported in Shahjahanpur district in November last year.
The Kolaghat bridge, connecting Shahjahanpur and Badaun, had broken into three pieces and collapsed. However, no casualties took place.
It has been a year since the accident took place and there have been no reports of the responsibility being fixed.
"The matter is under investigation," said a senior government official.
In May 2018, in Varanasi, 18 persons were killed when an under-construction flyover collapsed. The incident took place in front of the Varanasi Cantt Railway Station.
Many cars were buried under the heap of rubble and over two dozen persons were injured in the incident. Three persons were pulled alive from the crashed structure.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was deployed to help the authorities in clearing the debris and pulling out the injured from the debris.
The flyover was constructed by the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation between Chauka Ghat bus stand and Lahartara.
