September 17, 2007	Monday	Ramazan 04, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Sept 16: Consumer Watch Pakistan (CWP) on Sunday demanded a judicial inquiry into the collapse of the Sher Shah Bridge section of the Karachi Northern Bypass.

The bridge collapsed on Sept 1 when a 70-metre long Baldia Loop of the Sher Shah Bridge suddenly buckled without any warning.

The initial cause of the incident was stated to be the collapse of the 120-metre long box girder, whose design was controversial yet it was approved by foreign consultants. The collapse resulted in the death of six persons, injuries to several others and severe damage to many vehicles.

Shamim Siddiqui, the federal minister for communication, announced on the day of incident, that an inquiry committee was being constituted that would submit a report within two weeks but no such report has been released yet although two weeks have passed, a statement issued by the CWP said here on Sunday.  It said this clearly showed that government authorities were not sincere in ascertaining the actual cause of the incident and fixing responsibility of the bridge collapse that was inaugurated only three weeks before its collapse.  The collapse has raised serious questions about the capacity of Engineering Consultants International Limited (ECIL) and National Logistic Cell (NLC) to design and execute such mega projects.  Under the circumstances, CWP has appealed to the government to thoroughly inquire the matter through an inquiry committee, consisting of the judges of the Sind High Court.

It demanded an immediate judicial inquiry into the incident and blacklisting the company responsible for this criminal negligence. Until the judicial inquiry is finalised, the personnel of both the companies that managed the project, should be kept on the Exit Control List (ECL) so that important proof and information should not be allowed to escape.  The cost of damages and compensation to the deceased and the injured should be paid by the company found responsible for the failure of the structure.

Moreover, work on all the projects being handled by NLC and ECIL should be stopped immediately and a third party review should be made mandatory before the initiation of work on those projects, it demanded. The collapse sums up the state of road safety in Pakistan. The tragic incident also reflects the quality of work Pakistani firms are producing in road projects.  The CWP stressed the need to make the Karachi bridge collapse inquiry as a benchmark in Pakistan’s engineering history and culprits should be punished, irrespective of their status.—PPI