Collapsed Ahiritola ferry ghat jetty to be ready by Sept 6
Kolkata: Ahiritola ferry ghat jetty footbridge that collapsed during high tide on Sunday will be repaired by Tuesday. Ferry services will resume on Friday after an expert committee approves that the footbridge is completely safe for the commuters.
The committee, comprising Jadavpur University experts, has been formed to ascertain the exact cause of collapse.
"Ferry services at Ahritola is expected to resume by Friday. The repair work will be completed by Tuesday," said Deboshree Dasgupta, director of Indo-Swiss Trading Company Private Limited (ISTCPL). The ISTCPL looks after vessel operation at the Ahiritola ferry ghat. On Sunday, Rajkumar Saha (45), a staff of ISTCPL, was severely injured when he was trying to inspect the cause of the collapse of a portion of the footbridge connecting Ahiritola jetty.
"The committee consists of experts from Jadavpur University and our engineers. They will inspect the bridge after repair work is completed and services will be resumed only after they give green signal. We want to ensure safety and security of the passenger s before commencing services again," Dasgupta said.
The Ahiritola ferry ghat jetty is one of the busiest ghats in Kolkata, which connects people in North Kolakata with Howrah.
The Ahritola ferry ghat jetty caters to 50,000 passengers on an average on a normal day.
Ferry services were stopped after a portion of the jetty collapsed during high tide at 11.40 am on Sunday.
Local residents had claimed that a major disaster was averted as it was a Sunday. If it had been a working day, many people would have been injured in the mishap, they felt.
"Rajkumar, a staff of ISTCPL, was there at the jetty when the waves hit it. He was rescued immediately. He has suffered a leg injury," Dasgupta said.