Girl cycling to tuition dies in Hooghly bridge collapse

Jangipara (Hooghly): A 12-year-old girl cycling to her tuition classes died a tragic death when the bridge she was crossing collapsed under the weight of a sand-laden truck moving ahead of her. Salma Soren died before she could be rushed to a hospital. Sheikh Jamirul, a mason who was crossing the bridge on foot, was injured and has been hospitalised.
The accident in Hooghly’s Jangipara collapsed one end of the concrete 10-feet high bridge across a canal, leaving the truck hanging off it.
Locals, who rushed to Salma and Jamirul’s rescue, complained that sand- and cement-laden trucks cause frequent accidents in Jangipara. The truck driver fled and a search is on to nab him. Police also searched the canal to check if there were more bodies in it.
Hooghly SP Tathagata Basu said: “The accident is unfortunate. We have seized the truck and started a probe. We will not allow sand-laden trucks from plying along the Jangipara-Serampore road.”
West Bengal Truck Owners’ Association president Prabir Chatterjee said, “We have often informed the state government through police that the load-bearing capacity of roads in the state is far lower than the load borne by them. Our trucks have to carry a heavy load of sand and other material along national highways and state highways.”
Hooghly zilla sabhadhipati Memhboob Rahman said the sand-laden trucks ply without proper permission. “We have often brought this to the notice of the district police. The administration held a meeting on Thursday evening. We again told them that the trucks carry sand without permission. Both the Chandannagore police and Hooghly rural police have been directed to stop sand-laden trucks from plying along roads throughout Hooghly from Friday morning. Police will monitor all roads in their respective jurisdictions and act against any sand-laden truck.”