The State Administrative Council (SAC) which met here today under the Chairmanship of Governor N N Vohra ordered that a safety audit should be carried out of all major under-construction and completed bridges and fly-overs in Jammu and Kashmir.The decision was taken following the tragic incident in Kolkata on 31st March, 2016 in which two parts of an under construction flyover collapsed resulting in loss of lives and injuries to scores of people.The SAC noted that it is imperative that the safety of under-construction flyovers and bridges is examined and necessary safety measures are timely enforced to ensure against avoidable accident.
It was decided that Directorate of Design Inspection and Quality Control (DIQC) shall be the nodal agency for the safety audits to be got conducted by credible and reputed third party agencies like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other similar organizations of national and international repute. For this purpose the DIQC shall be provided with adequate manpower and financial resources.The SAC decided that all Deputy Commissioners will also constitute a team of engineers, headed by the District SE, for listing of the bridges in their respective districts for coordinating their safety audit.Meanwhile, the J&K Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) has been asked to ensure that all safety measures are in place for the execution of the flyover projects in Srinagar and Jammu as per the ADB standards and protocol. “ERA will get a safety audit of both the flyovers conducted by a third party on emergent basis”, SAC ordered.