Patna: Bihar’s Road Construction Minister, Dilip Jaiswal, has taken decisive action following the collapse of a newly constructed ropeway in Rohtas district last week. Two engineers from the Road Construction Department have been suspended, and the construction company responsible has been blacklisted, the minister confirmed on Tuesday.
A high-level committee, led by the managing director of Bihar State Bridge Construction Corporation Limited (BSBCCL), Patna, conducted the investigation into the accident. The report found both the contractor and departmental engineers at fault for the incident.
The ropeway, which was intended to connect Rohtas block to Rohtasgarh Fort and Rohiteshwar Dham, collapsed during a test run on Friday. Fortunately, no casualties were reported. Officials said that while a tower and four test trolleys were damaged, workers on site managed to protect themselves.
The collapse has raised serious concerns about construction quality and safety standards. Senior BSBCCL engineer Khurshid Karim explained that the accident occurred when a wire became stuck while the load was being increased during testing. He added that the ropeway would not be opened to the public until it passed all safety checks.
The project, constructed by Ropeway & Resource Private Limited of Kolkata, had an estimated cost of around Rs 12.65 crore.
