48-wheeler was within prescribed load limit, Teesta Urja claims

GANGTOK, 21 Dec: While most people have been pointing fingers at Teesta Urja, the company engaged in the development of the 1,200 MW Teesta Stage-III hydel project at Chungthang, for the Rangchang bridge collapse, which claimed eight lives, including 2 of its own employees, company officials have denied any liability for the accident.

Speaking to NOW!, Krishnamurthy, a senior official at Teesta Urja, stated that the 48-wheeler which was lugging a transformer to Mangan [and which is being blamed for having brought down the bridge with its weight], was much below the specified load limit set for the Rangchang Bridge.
“We have got the technical report from our transporter which is in code and it clearly mentions that the load of the vehicle was below the load limit for the bridge,” stated Mr. Krishnamurthy. However, when asked for the exact weight of the load, he said that he would not be able to provide that as the report of the transporter was in code, as is the norm, and which had to be first transcribed to lay language. The load-bearing capacity of the Rangchang Bridge was 70R, or 100 tonnes.
Meanwhile, another senior official, Paramjit Bhatia, General Manager at the Teesta Urja Powerhouse, declined to make any statement on the grounds that the matter did not come under his jurisdiction.
It is hoped that Teesta Urja will be more forthcoming in releasing details and issuing an official statement on the incident and its role in it.