Soil cave-in at Odisha tunnel blamed on railway negligence: Das

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Congress president Bhakta Charan Das Tuesday alleged that the soil cave-in at a tunnel of the ongoing Khurda-Bolangir project in Boudh district happened because of negligence by the railways.

The incident happened in Adenigarh area of Harabhanga block in Boudh district Monday afternoon. However, no one was injured in the mishap.

Railway authorities said the incident happened due to loose soil formation and continuous rainfall in the area.

A delegation of the Odisha Congress led by Das visited the tunnel site Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, he alleged that the incident happened because of negligence by the railways as they had taken the project very casually.

“It is a big mistake from the railway side. I hold the responsibility of the Railway minister and the officials concerned who are supposed to examine the quality of the soil,” he said.

“The Railway minister is responsible because many such accidents have taken place throughout the country after he took charge of the ministry,” the Congress leader said.

Fortunately, no one was working there when the mishap happened, Das said.

Stating that the railways is competent to handle such kind of situation, Das said, “The Indian railway has built underwater tunnels and bridges over rivers. But the tunnel incident is negligence from the railway side, as no one has looked after such a minimal thing.”

“We don’t want to make it a political issue. It is a technical problem and the Railway minister should make necessary steps while executing projects on such type of soil,” he added.

Das said that the Khurda-Bolangir railway line is a prestigious project as it will connect Bhubaneswar with Bolangir, Bargarh, Boudh, Sonepur and Kandhamal.

PTI

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