A part of the flyover under construction collapsed at Nehru Nagar near Gunadala on Monday night at about 10.30 p.m. However, there were no casualties. The flyover was being constructed to connect the Inner Ring Road with Ramavarapadu Ring. According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (Central) D.V. Nageswara Rao, four spans connecting one pillar to another collapsed in an area where there was no movement of people. The reason for the collapse is yet to be ascertained, but it is suspected that the slabs were not placed properly and would have slipped. Another version states that the flyover was being constructed at a spot where three canals -- Eluru, Ryves and Budameru -- flow very close to each other and the pillars were located on soft soil. This soil condition is believed to have led to collapse of the slabs.
It was fortunate that accident did not happen during the working hours, otherwise a large number of workers would have been present and could have led to a few casualties, said the ACP. The flyover had been under construction for the last three years and was mired in controversy with a prominent Congress leader strongly opposing the construction, which also had land acquisition problems. The flyover was part of the VGTMUDA's.120-crore project .
