INDIA. Mumbai: While torrential rains threw normal life out of gear in Madhya Pradesh in the last few days, the engineers of the Indian Army have begun construction of a bridge over the Sukhtawa river to restore connectivity on the critical National Highway No. 46.
The Indian Army Engineers of “Sudarshan Chakra Corps” of Southern Command mobilized from Bhopal began the construction of the 90-foot Bailey Bridge in the Bhopal-Nagpur sector near Narmadapuram on Friday.
The 145-year-old bridge collapsed in April this year due to heavy vehicle traffic. Thereafter, the Madhya Pradesh administration requisitioned the Army to construct a bridge and restore traffic. However, a diversion route built to sustain the heavy traffic on the Sukhtawa river was submerged multiple times due to heavy rains, thus cutting off the crucial lifeline in the last few days, an official statement said.
Over the last three months, the Engineer Regiment from “Sabse Behtar Brigade” along with Madhya Pradesh authorities and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) worked on a war footing. Within three months, displaying urgency and apt civil-military coordination, a heavy load class 90 feet long Bailey Bridge was provided by NHAI.
Now the bridge is being constructed by Indian Army Engineers. To build the bridge over the existing piers, superior engineering skills and equipment handling capability are required.
The construction of this bridge will restore connectivity on the NH-46 connecting Bhopal with Nagpur through Betul. The construction of this bridge will be a boon for the movement of goods and will also facilitate the faster movement of locals and civilians from adjoining towns and villages, reducing congestion and delays caused over the last few months.
IAF’s flood relief operations in MP
In the meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has continued its helicopter deployment in Madhya Pradesh for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. The helicopters are being relocated from Bhopal to Gwalior on the requisition of the MP government.
The IAF has deployed two Medium Lift Helicopters Mi17 V5 at Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.
So far, the IAF helicopters have carried out 10 sorties and rescued 25 personnel stuck due to floods and moved them to safer locations. The operations included both winching and low hover operations. On Friday 1.2 MT of relief material was dropped by IAF Helicopters at Bhind and Morena near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
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