Bhopal, 29 June

The Madhya Pradesh government has suspended seven PWD engineers and ordered a departmental probe against a retired superintendent engineer for the 'faulty design' of a new rail over-bridge in Bhopal having an unusual 90-degree turn.

The construction agency and design consultant have been blacklisted, and a committee has been formed to make necessary improvements in the rail over-bridge (ROB), Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said in a post on X on Saturday evening.

The newly built ROB in Aishbagh area of the city has become a subject of criticism and ridicule with local residents and netizens questioning its design and wondering how vehicles would negotiate the sharp 90-degree turn.

"I took cognizance of the serious negligence in the construction of Aishbagh ROB and ordered an inquiry. On the basis of the inquiry report, action has been taken against eight PWD engineers," CM Yadav said.

Seven engineers, including two chief engineers, were suspended with immediate effect while a departmental inquiry will be conducted against a retired superintendent engineer, he said.

"The ROB will be inaugurated only after improvements are made," the chief minister added.

The persons against whom action was taken for the alleged faulty design are chief engineers Sanjay Khande and GP Verma, in-charge executive engineer Javed Shakeel, in-charge sub-divisional officer Ravi Shukla, sub-engineer Umashankar Mishra, assistant engineer Shanul Saxena, in-charge executive engineer Shabana Rajjaq, and retired superintendent engineer MP Singh, said Public Works Department (PWD) additional chief secretary Neeraj Mandloi.

The government also blacklisted architect firm M/s Puneet Chaddha and design consultant M/s Dynamic Consultant, he said.

The ROB, built at a cost of Rs 18 crore, was aimed at improving the connectivity between Mahamai Ka Bagh, Pushpa Nagar and the station area with New Bhopal, benefiting some three lakh people.

Last week, the PWD formed a committee to find a solution in order to ensure safe movement of vehicles on the bridge.

Officials associated with the construction argued that they had no other option but to build the bridge this way given the paucity of land and presence of a metro rail station nearby.

If a little extra land is made available, the 90-degree sharp turn can be converted into a curve, the officials had said.