The Madras High Court today restrained authorities from inaugurating a new bridge at Thanjavur which had allegedly developed cracks.
The court was hearing a petition seeking steps to strengthen the structure before it was thrown open to traffic.
The Railway over Bridge (RoB) was to be inaugurated by Chief Minister K Palaniswami tomorrow.
A bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice N Nisha Banu in its interim order directed the National Highways Authority of India chief engineer to submit a detailed report on the strength of the bridge.
It then posted the case for hearing after a week.
The bench gave the direction on a PIL from one Neelakandan, who submitted that the bridge had not been built as per the original plan.
He alleged that the width of the bridge had been narrowed due to "vested interests".
This would lead to accidents as vehicles tend to go faster over the bridge, the petitioner said.
Neelakandan submitted that while the portion of the bridge covering the track was constructed by the Railways, the remaining part had been constructed by the Tamil Nadu government.
A big crack was noticed on November 6 in the middle of the bridge and it was patched up using gravel powder and tar, he alleged.
If the bridge was not properly strengthened, it could lead to fatal accidents, the petitioner said and sought a direction to officials concerned and the government to strengthen the bridge, and till then not open it for traffic.
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