Bais godam circle in Jaipur

Major tragedy averted, launcher slipped on the elevated road at 22 godown circle in Jaipur

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A heavy launcher (a crane) slipped off the elevated road at 22 Godown circle in Jaipur on Wednesday. The launcher was being used for the construction work at the elevated road. A part of the launcher suddenly dropped over the bridge damaging it. The accident took place around 10  in the morning when there was heavy traffic.

If the launcher had fallen on the road, a big accident could have happened. It could have been a major tragedy as it is one of the busiest roads in the city.  There is the state secretariat, high court, and assembly buildings nearby. There are also two big shopping malls and multiplexes.

According to the information, segment locking work was going on on elevated roads. While unloading the huge segment launcher on the elevated road the launcher broke its link and got swung on the side of the road. At the same time, several passers-by were passing under the road, but by god’s grace it did not fall down. The incident created panic among commuters. The traffic policemen who were on duty at the circle handled the situation, stopped the traffic and informed the senior JDA officials.

This elevated road at 22 Godown Circle is being constructed by JDA. On receiving information about the incident, the team of JDA officials and engineers reached the spot. The traffic has been diverted and the affected area under the bridge has been cordoned off.

The launcher is about 50 feet long and weighs several tons. This situation was created due to a lack of monitoring of JDA engineers and negligence in the work of the contracted company. If the launcher fell down, a big accident could have happened.

According to experts, there are many rules that need to be followed at the time of such construction. Non-compliance or negligence can lead to major accidents.

As per the rules, the movement of traffic should be stopped when work is going on at the construction site. If for some reason this cannot be done then such works are allowed to be done only at night. If in case,  both the above rules cannot be followed then the traffic must be diverted in the part undergoing the construction work.

The construction is being constantly delayed for a long time also causing frequent accidents. The work was to be completed in 2019, June, the duration of which extended by 2020. Now, only 69 percent of the work has been completed so far and it will take 5 months to complete the work.

This incident reminds of the Varanasi bridge accident in Uttar Pradesh. In 2018, 18 people lost their lives when a part of a flyover under construction fell on the passers-by. A major accident has been averted, otherwise, an accident like Varanasi could have happened.