A Bridge That Was Not!

A bridge that was built across a river in Tirunelveli District's Thirukurungudi village only about one year ago suddenly collapsed into virtual debris. Abysmally poor quality of construction is said to be the reason.
In Tamil Nadu the enduring unholy nexus among the politicians, bureaucracy and contractor is too well known to be written about. Will this nexus ever see an end, or is the state cursed to suffer from this forever? This disgusting nexus has directly impacted the public who silently suffer the consequences. School buildings roofs leak on rainy days, bus terminus buildings and sheds collapse, check dams across rivers, government hospital get flooded in rains, sewerage gets into drinking water distribution pipes, and streams get washed away, balconies of Slum Clearance and Housing Board tenements fall away taking away lives and damaging property. I could list a thousand such instances which are directly attributable to the unholy nexus. mermaid prom party outfits in black
With regard to the bridge collapse in Thirukurungudi village, in my opinion will take first position. The villagers have to take a ten kilometre circuitous route to cross the river to access schools, medical facilities, shops etc., causing severe hardship in the community. Coming to the construction itself, a concrete structure that is supposed to stand several decades, collapse within one year! Was any cement at all used in the construction? Who was the contractor? Who was the supervisory authority who certified the work and passed the bills?
When concrete is poured, samples called 'test blocks' of 15 centimetre cubes, three for each batch, is supposed to be cast into molds specifically for testing? Were these test blocks tested and results calibrated over the 21-day curing period specified in the National Building Code, during the period of construction?
Until these aspects are investigated, all concerned, that is tha contractor, the engineer in charge of certification, his or her immediate superior, should all be taken into custody and imprisoned. The courts should not grant bail to these culprits until such time the investigation is complete and chargesheet filed. Unless strict action is taken and the case pursued with vigour, such man-made disasters will continue to proliferate! Tax payers' money will continue to go down rhe drain, or should I say into the cavernous pockets of corrupt politicians, indifferent bureaucrats, and scoundrels of contractors!