The three-member committee formed by the State Government on Monday submitted its report on the collapse of the bridge over the Jira river in Bargarh district on September 24.
The report, like the under-construction Bomikhal flyover collapse incident in Bhubaneswar, blamed the engineers and the contractor of the project for the bridge collapse.
Rural Development Department Engineer-in-Chief Prabir Pradhan said the inquiry report has indicted three engineers for negligence in duty. It has also suggested blacklisting the contractor. A notice has been issued to the contractor.
As per the findings of the committee, the mishap occurred as there was no staging under the soffit slab and the casting was done without any support from the ground.
The work on the bridge that began in 2016 was awarded to Amardeep Agarwal, a special class contractor of Padmapur in Bargarh district with an agreement value of Rs 10.46 crore.
Earlier RD Executive Engineer Amulya Mohapatra, an Assistant Executive Engineer and a Junior Engineer were suspendedand later arrested for the bridge collapse. The bridge was constructed under the Biju Setu Yojana at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore. The nine-span bridge was almost complete as eight slabs had already been laid. The accident took place when work on the last span was underway.
The bridge once completed would connect village Jamdol with Dhubenpali in Bheden block.
Meanwhile, no decision has been taken on who would complete the unfinished work. locals demanded that the bridge be completed at the earliest.