Congress demands white paper on Mumbai-Goa Highway work after overbridge collapse

Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad. Pic/Mumbai Congress

A day after girder of an overbridge being constructed on a section of the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed in Chiplun, Mumbai Congress President Varsha Gaikwad on Tuesday demanded that the government should issue a white paper on the highway to determine the shoddy work done on the bridge.

"If the highway is not completed despite several years and spending crores of rupees for the construction only for such poor quality, then corruption is definitely in the works. As a result, the Mumbai Congress has demanded that a white paper should be drawn up on the stalled and inferior work of the Mumbai-Goa highway. If they have not done anything wrong, then they should not be afraid," said Varsha Gaikwad.

For several months, there has been a furore over the bad conditions of the Mumbai-Goa highway. "The highway was going to be four-lane. But work on the stretch is going on at a snail's pace. Work has been on for many years yet the condition remains worse," Gaikwad said.

"Even Public Works Minister Ravindra Chavan had announced to bring this road in better condition before Ganeshotsav which ended last month. But the announcement turned out to be one of many false promises," Gaikwad added.

On Monday, a girder of an overbridge being constructed on a section of the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed after developing cracks in Chiplun city in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district.

According to the officials, the incident took place in Chiplun city at around 2:45 pm, the girder crumbled and fell around 30 metres down. Nobody was injured in the incident as the area was already cordoned off. The girder developed cracks when it was being placed at the elevated position in the morning hours, following which the surrounding area was cordoned off and police personnel were deployed at the spot.