November 01, 2008	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 2, 1429

KARACHI, Oct 31: As the reconstruction of the Shershah bridge begins on Saturday, legislators have decided to take up the matter in the upper house of parliament questioning the way in which the authorities have awarded the more than Rs270 million reconstruction contract to a private company – to be paid from the exchequer – rather than penalizing the individuals or groups responsible for the collapse of the mega-structure.

Heavy machinery began to move in near the collapsed portion of the bridge on Friday and workers on the site suggested that they would formally start the reconstruction work on Saturday as directed by the authorities concerned and the contractor, Usman Associates.

The imminent reconstruction of the Shershah bridge is generally being viewed as a positive move, but it has raised eyebrows among the senators concerned, who sounded determined to object to the extra cost the government is bearing for the rebuilding of the collapsed structure, despite the fact that millions of rupees are due from the contractors, designers and builders for the faulty project.

“How it is possible to reconstruct the structure without penalizing the previous institutions or individuals?” Kamil Ali Agha, chairman of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Communications and Railways told Dawn. “We are calling the committee’s meeting shortly and will summon the officials concerned to explain the current position and also brief the senators about the findings of the inquiry report.”

He said the federal ministry of communications promised to provide a copy of the inquiry report to every single member of the standing committee. But though more than a month has passed since the commitment was made, the report has not been forthcoming. The senator agreed that the reconstruction of the collapsed structure of the Shershah bridge should be completed at the expense of those who were found responsible for the faulty design by the inquiry team.

“This will be on our agenda in the next meeting of the committee,” added Mr Agha, who is also the leader of the opposition in the Senate. “We are here to protect the interests of the people and institutions of the country and this issue, we feel, is in line with the same duty.”

Over half a dozen people were killed when the Baldia loop of the Shershah bridge collapsed in September 2007 – a mere 20 days after having been inaugurated by then president Pervez Musharraf – while dozens of others remained trapped in the mangled mass of concrete for over seven hours before being rescued. The tragedy also brought to a dead halt the Rs3.5 billion-plus Northern Bypass project.

Despite the gravity of the incident and its implications, the government has not made public the findings of experts deputed to investigate the reasons behind the collapse.

While officials confirm that the ministry of communications has received the final report of the inquiry ordered by the president and the prime minister within hours of the tragedy, this has not been made public and the government appears far from taking action against the responsible parties.

“The executive board of the National Highways Authority (NHA) a few months ago approved a Rs274.33 million bid to start construction in August 2008,” said a source close to the process. “But the project was delayed due to unknown reasons and finally starts tomorrow (Saturday). A nine-month time period has been estimated for the completion of the reconstruction process.”