PATHANKOT: A 44-year-old bridge in Kandrori bridge near Indora in Nurpur of Kangra district collapsed on Thursday afternoon due to heavy flow of flood water and rain.
A video, which was captured on a cellphone, shows a large portion of the 160-metre bridge and its pillars collapsing and getting swept away in the heavy current. Officials present at the spot said 76 metres of the bridge on 10 pillars were washed away by flood waters.
The bridge was a direct connection for many villagers of Himachal’s Nurpur Tehsil with neighbouring Punjab.
Even though the bridge saw heavy movement, nobody was injured in the collapse. That’s because a prompt administration had stopped traffic on the bridge on Wednesday after noticing cracks in the pillars supporting the bridge.
Just 10 days ago, a British-built bridge on the Mumbai-Goa highway had collapsed, weakened by incessant rain. Buses had fallen into the swollen Savitri river; 28 bodies have been recovered so far and 16 people are missing.
The bridge was to be dismantled this December as part of a highway expansion project, said the Maharashtra government on Wednesday. Maharashtra was accused of ignoring a warning from UK that the bridge is too old and dangerous.
-NDTV news