Mahad bridge collapse: Parsekar asks police to check on Goan casualty

The administration is keeping a close watch on the bridge collapse on the Mumbai-Goa highway, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told the State Assembly on Wednesday.

Two buses with 22 on board and a few other vehicles were swept away as the British-era bridge in the Rajgad district in Konkan collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday.

As the monsoon session of the Assembly began, Mr. Parsekar made a

suo motu mention of the tragedy, calling it “very unfortunate”. Mr. Parsekar has asked the Goa police to ascertain if any Goan is missing in the accident.

PTI adds:

“On Goa-Mumbai road at Mahad, a few vehicles have gone down the bridge which collapsed. I have asked Goa DGP to check whether fatalities include Goans,” Mr. Parsekar told the House.

“Till now there is no information about Goans involved in the accident. Government has kept a constant watch. We are in constant touch. We will do whatever is required,” he said.

Goa’s Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza told reporters outside the Assembly that the government is likely to audit the strength of the Portuguese-era bridges that were built and being used. “There is need to audit the strength of the existing Goan bridges and roads. Most of the existing bridges were built during the Portuguese time and they are still in use.”

He said the Mahad incident is “a wake-up call for us to look at the state of affairs of our bridges.”

“Once the audit is done, we can also decide where we have to create new infrastructure,” he added.