The Beerbhatti bridge on the Almora highway, which was reopened for traffic on the weekend after two months had to be closed again for traffic on Sunday evening. The bailey bridge with a maximum load capacity of 16 tonnes was reportedly affected by heavier vehicles plying on it.
It is pertinent to mention here that on September 25, this bridge had suffered damage due to explosions after a truck transporting lPG cylinders caught fire. After that, the bridge reportedly sank lower during repairs due to alleged negligence. later, a mechanical excavator was put to work near the bridge on the mountain side, which ended up causing landslide. The officials had then said that the bridge would be ready for use by November 20 but this deadline could not be met. The officials then set a deadline of November 26 but the bridge could be reopened for traffic only on this weekend. After repeated delays which caused much dissatisfaction among the locals, a bailey bridge was put up and opened for use on Saturday. According to sources, a notice had been put up on the bridge informing about the maximum load capacity and directing heavy vehicle drivers to use the bridge one at a time. However, after 40 tonne vehicles passed over the bridge, the structure has reportedly been affected. In view of the risk of any untoward incident, the officials concerned shut the bridge for traffic on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, the local residents claim that the protracted negligence of the officials concerned is causing major inconvenience to the locals and other travellers.