Okha: After several news reports of a cave-in on the Sudarshan Setu, a cable-stayed bridge connecting Beyt Dwarka and Okha, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)has issued a clarification, stating that there was no cave-in; it was just regular wear and tear on the top layer of the bridge, which has nothing to do with the quality of its construction.

NHAI engineer Jaggi Reddy stated, “Since the last 2-3 days, there has been news on social media about damage to the bridge, but actually, after the construction of the bridge, we make a layer on the bridge for smooth flow of traffic. That layer sometimes gets damaged from vehicles. We repair or replace that layer, and a similar damage occurred, which was repaired immediately, and the bridge was opened for normal traffic. This layer is not critical to the structure of the bridge; damages happen to this layer which is sometime repaired and sometime replaced”

Certain sections of the media had portrayed this minimal damage to a small portion of the upper crust as a cave-in and potholes, sensationalizing the issue and questioning the quality of the entire project.

The bridge was constructed by S. P. Singla Constructions Pvt. Ltd., whose project in-charge told the media that this was normal wear and tear due to rain, which has been repaired. He also pointed out, “This problem has occurred in only 0.5 square meters of the total area of 60 thousand square meters, which is 0.00001 percent of the entire project.”

The bridge was built at a cost of around Rs. 980 crores and is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the country, measuring approximately 2.32 km. DeshGujarat