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Bengal

Agency repairing portico held responsible for cave-in

Kolkata: The agency that was executing the repair work of the portico of Burdwan Railway Station which collapsed on January 4, has been held responsible for the cave-in.

The report comes three weeks after the collapse in which one person died. "The enquiry is complete. Strict action will be taken against the contractor. In a week's time, we will finalise what action will be taken against the contractor," said Howrah divisional railway manager Ishaq Khan. On January 4, two persons were critically injured in the collapse of a portion of the portico. DRM Howrah immediately rushed to the site with a team of officers to oversee relief work and to ensure that the passengers were not inconvenienced.

The area was immediately cordoned off and alternate routes were arranged for passengers to reach the platforms. RPF staff and commercial staff were also deployed to guide the passengers. However, as a precautionary measure, the movement of trains was initially suspended from platform number 1, which was later restored with speed restriction. One of the two injured succumbed to his injuries on January 5. They were taken to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital.

The other injured person, identified as Hopna Tudu, 45, was discharged after treatment from the hospital. According to sources, the portico was undergoing renovation for a few days and was about to get finishing touches soon when the incident occured. "An enquiry committee comprising of senior DCM Howrah, senior DSO Howrah and senior division engineer Howrah was formed to look into the cause of the incident," said Nikhil Kumar Chakrobarty, chief public relation officer of Eastern Railways. It was learnt from railway sources that the committee took the statements of eyewitnesses of the incident.

The whole structure will be demolished and then a new structure will be built.

The committee has also consulted with IIT Kharagpur on how to keep the structural strength of the portico. It may be mentioned that Burdwan, which is around 95 km from Kolkata, is located on the busy Howrah-New Delhi line. It is the third most busy railway terminal after Howrah and Sealdah in the state.

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