Ahmedabad. The bridge built seven years ago in 2017 at a cost of 42 crores is no longer of any use. Now this Hatkeshwar bridge will be demolished and rebuilt. This time its cost will be Rs 52 crore. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has issued the fourth tender for the reconstruction of the bridge. This amount for the reconstruction of the bridge will be recovered from the same company that built it. The bridge has been closed for the last two years due to safety concerns in view of the dilapidated condition of the bridge. Leader of Opposition in AMC Shahzad Khan Pathan called Hatkeshwar Buld a prime example of engineering failure and corruption. He said that this bridge, built by Ajay Infra, was inaugurated in November 2017, but it was temporarily closed in March 2021 due to a pothole.
Pathan said, the bridge was completely closed after it was found unsafe in the stability report made in August 2022. The total cost of the bridge, including reconstruction, will be Rs 94 crore in just five years and this amount should be recovered from Ajay Infra Company. He said, the bridge was completely closed after it was found unsafe in the stability report made in August 2022. The total cost of the bridge, including reconstruction, will be Rs 94 crore in just five years and this amount should be recovered from Ajay Infra Company. According to the report, Devang Dani, chairman of the standing committee of AMC, said in an interview, Hatkeshwar bridge was closed due to damage. AMC had issued three tenders to demolish and rebuild it, but no company responded. In the fourth attempt, a company from Rajasthan agreed to take up the project. AMC aims to complete the process within 15 days and build a new bridge in the next 18 months. At the same time, Devang Dani said that the assessment of the reconstruction cost of the bridge is underway, while Gujarat’s Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi confirmed that its demolition and reconstruction will cost Rs 52 crore, which will be recovered from the original contractor. In response, Pathan asked why the reconstruction of this bridge will cost only Rs 52 crore when the construction of other new bridges in Ahmedabad is costing more than Rs 100 crore. He also asked why the same method of saving cost cannot be adopted on all new bridges. Ahmedabad Congress city president Himmat Singh Patel also expressed concern and questioned why no investigation was conducted against the contractor and officials involved in the Hatkeshwar bridge case. He accused the BJP of avoiding action and selectively using agencies like ED and CBI.