“It was a disaster waiting to happen” — that was how Thane city engineer K D Lala chose to describe Friday’s incident of a concrete girder falling on a moving train, killing two and injuring 12. “I am surprised that it did not happen earlier,” he added.

The Indian Express had, on March 14 this year, reported how the precariously-placed girders, meant for construction of a road overbridge across the tracks, were posing a threat to the lives of commuters travelling in trains running below the bridge. The girder that fell on Friday was meant to have been used for the bridge construction as far back as November 2006, since when it has been kept on a platform.

“The girder was rested on wooden blocks before being lowered on to steel bearings. I am assuming that in three years the platform on which the girders rested must have deteriorated, resulting in the girder to fall down,” Lala said.

The TMC had, in March 2008, written to RITES and the railways about the risk posed by the girders being rested on their temporary positions. It had not ruled out the possibility of a mishap. The construction of the bridge had begun in 2002 after the TMC selected Ajaiapal Mangala & Company as the contractor and appointed RITES as the consultant.

The first setback to the TMC came when it submitted the drawings of the proposed bridge to the then chief bridge engineer of Central Railway for approval. However, the drawings were later approved with changes in design and construction technique. “Since we were constructing over railway property, we had to abide by their whims,” Lala said.

... contd.