The West Bengal government on Thursday said 20 flyovers across the city were in “weak condition”. It has also imposed restrictions on heavy-vehicle movement to Kolkata Dock System of the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT).

“We won’t allow extra long 20-wheeler vehicles (used in carrying 40 ft containers) to ply within city limits,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters at the State Secretariat.

She said the KoPT should explore different ways to evacuate cargo. It can explore rail, inland waterways or ro-ro services as possible alternatives.

“We cannot risk life and property by allowing heavy and overloaded vehicles to ply,” the Chief Minister said.

Nepal, Bhutan to be hit

The KoPT is witnessing an eight-hour traffic restriction which limits its cargo evacuation potential. The fresh restrictions on vehicular movement may impact port operations before the festival season when the cargo movement is at peak. Container movement to land-locked Nepal and Bhutan might also suffer.

“We are currently assessing the situation,” a KoPT spokesperson told BusinessLine . The port doesn’t keep records of size of the vehicles.

Currently, the port is investing in enhancing rail loading capacity. Rail is also investing in de-congesting lines to Nepal. Nepalese container cargo is evacuated by road. Bhutan is also dependent on road movement.

The inland water transport facility is under implementation. Port and Inland Authority are implementing a ro-ro facility to ensure direct movement of trucks to national highway in Howrah.

Passing the buck

Banerjee, however, passed the buck of consecutive bridge collapses in the city on old structures and claimed they were not built during her tenure.

“The State government neither have funds, nor is it feasible to repair all 20 bridges at one-go. Moreover, the current socio-economic scenario also makes repair work difficult,” the Chief Minister said.

The Sealdah flyover, an arterial over-bride connecting Howrah railway station in West Kolkata to Sealdah railway station in Central Kolkata, was a case-point where objections from hawkers and shopkeepers to relocation proposals stalled repairs.

Banerjee said the 54-year-old Majerhat bridge, which caved-in on Tuesday evening killing three and injuring over 20 people, was built during the Congress regime and had “completed its life span”.

Blame on Metro Rail?

While a nine-member committee headed by the Chief Secretary will complete a probe on the collapse of Majerhat bridge within “seven-eight days”, Banerjee made areference to Metro Railway construction work affecting the structural stability.

“I am not saying that the collapse happened because of the Metro Railway construction work. But, it could be a possible reason. It is for the committee to determine the cause,” she said.

The State government has asked Metro Railway to stop all construction activity there for “an indefinite period”.

The Chief Minister also did not blame the public works department — the maintenance in-charge of the rail overbridge — either. As an alternative, ‘Bridge Inspection and Monitoring’ cells will be set-up in major departments.

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