Mrinalini Majumdar, Pune
It was in the early hours of 1st August when the news of the collapse of a girder machine sounded on several news portals. The girder machine is said to have collapsed during the construction process of the third portion of the Samruddhi Expressway. The mishap took place in Maharashtra’s Thane district.
A girder machine collapsed, killing at least 17 people, which includes five site engineers and 12 laborers. According to authorities, the tragedy occurred at 1 a.m. in the village of Khutadi Sarlambe of Shahapur tehsil. While three of the injured were sent to a neighboring hospital for quick medical attention, the remains of the deceased were taken to the Shahapur government hospital for autopsy.
According to PTI, the machine which caused the accident, serves as a special-purpose adaptable gantry crane utilised for bridge construction. It serves a purpose in highway as well as high-speed rail bridge building projects to install precast box girders. There is a chance that more bodies will be retrieved. An NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) officer told The Hindu that the death toll is expected to grow since additional individuals are believed to be buried beneath the rubble. Two or more teams from the NDRF have been working relentlessly on the site of the accident for this very purpose. Additionally, a rescue effort has been underway including police and fire department employees, as well as local authorities.
So far, a total of 88 people have passed away in road accidents on the Samruddhi Expressway within the previous six months. This includes 25 last month when a private bus caught on fire upon hitting a divider. The super expressway is being developed at a cost of 55,000 crore. Yet, the lives of those lost are the actual cost of this project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Pune, has already offered his condolences for the lives lost.
Modi has offered, from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, ex-gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh to each victim’s relatives. A sum of Rs 50,000 is to be given to those who were injured. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde has announced to pay a compensation of 5 lakhs to the victim’s families, whilst declaring an investigation regarding the mishap.