Supply line to Manipur cut off as crucial Barak Bridge collapses
An official said the steel suspenders and panels of the structure cracked when an overloaded truck was crossing it.
The Barak Bridge in Manipur collapsed on Monday morning, cutting the North Eastern state off from the rest of the country, an official said. The structure collapsed when an overloaded 10-wheeler truck was crossing it, a transport department official said, adding that the bridge had been in fragile condition since Sunday night, PTI reported.
“The steel suspenders and panels of the bridge cracked when an overloaded truck was crossing it,” Sunil Kumar, the general manager of National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd told The Indian Express.
“We immediately shut the bridge, managed to remove the truck and are now getting a contractor to urgently repair it,” he said. “While resources are being moved from Silchar in Assam, the bridge will not be operational before Wednesday.”
The bridge, located along the Imphal-Jiribam highway, is considered Manipur’s lifeline. Around 200 goods-laden trucks coming to Imphal are currently stranded in Jiribam.
Earlier, a landslide in Nagaland’s Viswema had cut off the Imphal-Dimapur national highway.