Berhampur, February 19: While the Haldiapadar bridge in Odisha’s Ganjam district has turned a blackspot, political row has erupted over its Detailed Project Report(DPR).

The BJP government,especially the Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena has alleged that frequent accidents and loss of lives on the bridge is due to its structural fault. The unusual curvature and dead turn, might be the reason behind the fatal road mishaps, said the minister.

A recent accident on the bridge that claimed at least 5 lives proved that there is some technial fault in its construction. However, he assured that the state government in cohesion with the NHAI, will take care of it and find its promt solution.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Ramesh Chandra Jena pointed towards favorable change of the DPR, in accordance with a BJD leader’s interest. Indirectly alleging a former Minister, Jena said that the DPR of the bridge was changed due to the underlying land that belonged to the former Minister.

Amid allegations of structural irregularities in the Haldiapadar overbridge in Berhampur City, Biplab Patro, son of late BJD minister Surjya Narayan Patro, refuted Jena’s allegation, saying it a hypothesis.

We had a piece of parental land beneath the bridge,that has been now a death trap for the commuters. However, it was sold out long before the bridge was proposed.

Apart from it, he said construction of a bridge on the NH is the subject of the NHAI. The authorities finalize the DPR and other technicality involving the construction. It can never be partially deviated as per someone’s interest.

Worth mentioning, a tragic road accident that occurred on January 31, leaving five people dead, wreaked a massive reaction across the distict pointing towards its faulty layout.