The height barrier at the Ujwal Nagar–Manish Nagar underpass collapsed on Wednesday evening, narrowly missing passing vehicles and raising serious concerns about maintenance and construction quality. The metal frame, installed to prevent oversized vehicles from entering the low-clearance railway underpass, gave way after its welding weakened over time and eventually fell across the road.
According to Prof Prashant Kadu, who witnessed the incident, the welding had gradually eroded, leading to the collapse of the nearly half-ton barrier. Motorists were forced to brake suddenly, while others swerved to avoid the fallen beam. Fortunately, no one was injured, as a mini-truck and several cars had passed through just moments earlier.
Residents said the barrier had shown visible signs of weakening for some time, but no preventive repairs were carried out. The incident has once again triggered a dispute over responsibility for maintaining the underpass. MahaMetro officials said the structure had already been handed over to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), making the civic body responsible for its upkeep. However, the NMC claimed that the handover process is still incomplete.
People from Manish Nagar, Ujwal Nagar, Somalwada and Besa-Beltarodi expressed anger over alleged negligence, congestion and deteriorating infrastructure. Following the incident, authorities shut the underpass and barricaded both entry and exit points to restrict traffic.
Citizens have demanded immediate repairs, stricter monitoring of vehicle heights and a safety audit of the underpass, warning that future failures may not be without casualties. Ravindra Bundhade, Executive Engineer of the Laxmi Nagar Zone, visited the site and was directed by senior officials to take corrective action.
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