Himachal CM orders probe into bridge collapse in Lahaul valley

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today ordered a high-level inquiry by Chief Engineer (Mandi Zone) of PWD to ascertain the cause of collapse of a bridge in Lahaul tribal valley.
The crucial bridge of strategic importance at Mooling in Lahaul Valley, 13 km from Keylong was inaugurated in October last year and it collapsed on March 10 in the wake of heavy snowfall, the Chief Minister said while replying to a calling attention motion by Ravi Singh Thakur (Congress) and Govind Thakur (BJP) in the Vidhan Sabha.
The bridge on Manali-Leh National Highway collapsed within five months after its inauguration and "Disciplinary action would be initiated against the officials or the contractor, if found guilty and efforts will be made to reconstruct the bridge on priority," he said.

The Chief Minister said the Principal Secretary (Public Works) would also visit the spot to review the situation.
The bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore.
BJP member Govind Thakur said that officials of the Border Roads Organisation, a wing of the ministry of Defence, should also be involved in the inquiry as their engineers have expertise in construction of bridges.