By News18,Shobhit Gupta

Copyright news18

The newly built railway overbridge in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, infamously called “90-degree” bridge for its unusual 90-degree turn, is turning at around 119 degrees, an expert told the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The expert, a professor from the Bhopal-based Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, submitted a report before the division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdev and Justice Vinay Saraf on Wednesday on the overpass, which stated that“the angle was measured and turned down to be 118.4 degrees”.
In view of the latest findings, the Madhya Pradesh government has sought time from the court to reconsider its decision against the firm it had blacklisted in connection with the controversial structure.
“Status report indicates that the angle in general arrangement drawing is 119 degree and at the site, the angle was measured and turned down to be 118’ 40’ 01. The expert has opined that the angle of turn at site is comparatively same with general arrangement drawing,” the High Court said, following the submission.
M/s Puneet Chadha, which was involved in the construction of the flyover in the Aishbagh area of the capital city, had moved the High Court after the government blacklisted it amid a huge controversy over a “right-angle” turn on the bridge. The petition had prompted the court to seek an expert report.
According to the petitioner, it got the contract for the construction of a flyover in Aishbagh in 2021-22. The General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) of the bridge was issued by a government agency, and the work was to be completed in 18 months.
The GAD was amended between 2023 and 2024, and the bridge was constructed under the supervision of the government agency, said the petitioner.
However, the images of the bridge with a sharp turn went viral on social media, drawing ridicule and criticism as the structure raised the possibility of accidents. The government then formed a five-member committee to investigate the matter.
It also suspended seven engineers, including two chief engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) and blacklisted both the construction agency and the design consultant responsible for the faulty design.
The persons against whom action was taken for the alleged faulty design are chief engineers Sanjay Khande and G P Verma, in-charge executive engineer Javed Shakeel, in-charge sub-divisional officer Ravi Shukla, sub-engineer Umashankar Mishra, assistant engineer Shanul Saxena, in-charge executive engineer Shabana Rajjaq, and retired superintendent engineer M P Singh, said Public Works Department (PWD) additional chief secretary Neeraj Mandloi.
There was a lack of coordination between the state government and the railways in the matter, said the probe committee, noting that the rail track passes under the bend on the bridge. Besides, the pillars of the overpass have not been installed at the prescribed distance, it said.
The petitioner claimed that the government blacklisted it only on the basis of the report of the investigation committee, without giving it an opportunity for a hearing. “The bend of the bridge is not 90 degrees but between 118-119 degrees,” it told the court.
Earlier, while ordering the expert assessment, the court had said that the petitioner should provide Rs 1 lakh towards the fees, and the Municipal Corporation of Bhopal should provide the required resources.
If the petitioner’s claim is correct, they will have the right to recover the fee amount, and no strict action should be taken against them, the court had said.
The ROB, built at a cost of Rs 18 crore, was aimed at improving the connectivity between Mahamai Ka Bagh, Pushpa Nagar and the station area with New Bhopal, benefiting some three lakh people.
(With inputs from PTI)