Worker killed, two injured as flyover portion collapses in J&K
A construction worker engaged by a private engineering company on the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway was killed, and two others sustained injuries on Tuesday when an under-construction portion of an elevated flyover collapsed near Jakh in the Vijaypur area of Samba district and the Sidhra area of Nagrota in Jammu.
The deceased worker has been identified as 26-year-old Gotam Sahu. He hailed from the Samastipur district of Bihar. He was crushed to death in the course of a segment launching near Jakh. His dead body was retrieved from the accident site after a gap of two long hours. Angry workers staged a protest demanding adequate compensation for the next of kin of the deceased worker.
According to coworkers, Gotam Sahu is survived by his wife and three minor kids, including two daughters and one son. Another labourer suffered head injuries and was evacuated to nearby AIIMS, Vijaypur hospital, the officials said. In a separate incident near Sidhra in Jammu, a 45-year-old construction worker identified as Budhi Singh, from Ramban, sustained injuries after the shuttering material of an under-construction flyover collapsed.
Following the tragedy, Regional Officer of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) RS Yadav has initiated an inquiry to ascertain the circumstances of the accident.
Speaking to reporters in Jammu, the Regional Officer of the National Highways Authority of India said the collapse occurred around 10:10 am while workers were engaged in “segment launching” and making minor adjustments to a concrete bridge pier/girder structure, which suddenly gave way.
The concrete structure collapsed suddenly, resulting in the on-the-spot death of 26-year-old labourer Gotam Sahu. He was employed by Vishwa Samudra Engineering (VSE).
Amid noisy protests at the construction site, the coworkers demanded adequate compensation and refused to shift the dead body for a post-mortem. The construction workers alleged that several accidents had happened during the ongoing construction of the ambitious project, and the construction workers who lost their lives were not given adequate compensation. Senior NHAI officials intervened to pacify the workers. Later, a sum of Rs 15 lakh was deposited in the bank account of the next of kin of the deceased by the construction company. The NHAI officials have also arranged the shifting of the mortal remains of Gotam Sahu to his native village after completing the legal formalities.
