KARACHI, June 2: The findings of an inquiry into the Shershah bridge collapse, which killed some half a dozen people and cost Rs2 billion in damages, appears to be a mystery even for legislators, who are desperate to know of the forces that have been marked as responsible for the tragedy.

A brief talk with members of the Senate Standing Committee on Communications showed that they had no details of the inquiry report prepared by the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission (PMIC) despite their repeated demands.

When contacted by Dawn almost all members of the committee they had scant knowledge of the inquiry report, as they all had been told that a faulty design of the project led to the collapse of the bridge, but they had not been told about the institutions and people who approved the plan.

“We invited the secretary for communications [to brief us] on the subject a few months ago,” said Senator Dr Mohammad Ismail Buledi, member of the committee. “He (secretary communications) briefed the committee on the issue and promised to make the inquiry report public.”

However, conversations with the senator suggested that a copy of the report, which was pledged to be made public, had not been provided even to the members of the committee.

The 70-metre-long Baldia loop of the Shershah bridge collapsed in September 2007, a mere 20 days after its inauguration by President Pervez Musharraf. Dozens of people had been trapped under the mangled mass of concrete for over seven hours before being rescued by government organisations and volunteers.

A Rs3.5 billion project of the National Highway Authority (NHA), which also involved the National Logistic Cell (NLC) and a private organization during the course of construction, the tragedy halted the Northern Bypass project. The reconstruction of the bridge and action against the culprits behind the tragedy are awaited.

“I personally feel that there is a kind of pressure on the ministry that prevents it from making the report public despite our demand,” said one of the 12 members of the senate committee, who did not want to be named.

“Our last meeting in March on the subject concluded with recommendations that the findings of the PMIC, which conducted an inquiry into the collapse of the bridge, be made public as soon as possible.”

He said none of the members of the committee had yet received a copy of the report. However, the senator added, the committee enjoyed a limited mandate and could only put pressure on the institutions concerned to follow its recommendations.

Though the government claims it has completed the inquiry into the bridge collapse, it has yet to register a case against the individuals or institutions responsible for what can surely be described as a case of criminal negligence.

The communication ministry recently reiterated that it would move against the culprits but the record at the Site police station – under whose jurisdiction falls the area of the incident – suggests no case has been registered about the incident. Fresh disclosures by the senators cast doubts on the ministry’s sincerity about bringing the culprits to book.

“We have been briefed on the inquiry report and not provided with a copy of that document,” said Senator Naeem Hussain Chathha, another member of the Senate Standing Committee on Communications.

“I think when we met last time the inquiry was still going on but officials of the ministry of communications made a commitment to us that they would keep us abreast of the progress. It would be difficult for me to recall all such details right now.”