Two labourers were killed and one was critically injured in two separate mishaps involving under-construction flyover and Tawi bridge, as part of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway in Samba and Jammu districts on Tuesday.
Two incidents in a single day at two different stretches of under-construction (Delhi–Amritsar–Katra) Expressway raised some serious questions over the safety provisions for labourers engaged even in big-ticket infrastructure projects.
In the first incident, the mishap occurred on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) morning at around 10 am during the installation of a span at an under-construction flyover near Jakh Morh, Vijaypur in Samba district.
During the installation work, the span collapsed and fell down. In the incident, one labourer identified as Gautam Sao, 25, son of Paltan Sao, resident of Ward number 10, Godah, Bihar, died on the spot.
Another labourer namely Bisht Sao, son of Naresh Sao, resident of Bihar, sustained critical injuries. The injured labourer was immediately shifted to Vijaypur hospital for treatment.
Senior Police and NHAI officials immediately rushed to the spot. Police also registered an FIR in this connection and initiated proceedings to ascertain the circumstances that led to collapse.
National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) project director Jammu Rajiv Kumar, while responding to media queries on the site, said flyover span collapsed at Jakh during minor adjustment (of the span) in which one labourer died. He said Rs 5 lakh compensation was awarded immediately while rest of financial aid will be provided as per the Work Compensation Act after accounting.
However, the labourers, working at the site, demanded that an adequate compensation and pension should be given to the wife of the deceased. They alleged that in the past too such incidents took place but adequate compensation was not given.
In the second incident, one labourer died when a part of fresh concrete slab of the under-construction Tawi bridge, also a part of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, at Sidhra in Jammu outskirts, fell while he was engaged in construction work.
Officials stated that the labourer Budhi Singh, 45, a resident of Ramban sustained critical injuries after he fell from a height at the under-construction Tawi bridge.
Regional Officer NHAI J&K, R S Yadav stated that under the package 18 of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, the work was underway at Tawi bridge.
“Pier of the new bridge was cast a day ago. Work is underway amid traffic congestion. Today an oversized truck hit the shuttering leading to the fall of a part of a fresh concrete slab. In the incident, a labourer sustained injuries and he was immediately rushed to the hospital,” Yadav stated.
He clarified that it was not a bridge collapse incident. “During construction, first pier-casting is done and span launching is undertaken. In this case, it was at the pier-casting stage. It was a fresh concrete slab. It takes at least 28 days to get it stabilised,” he said.
Later critically injured Budhi Singh, who was rushed to GMC Jammu hospital, was declared “brought dead” there.
Meanwhile, with regard to the Jakh incident, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Jammu also issued an official statement.
It stated that an unfortunate incident occurred on Tuesday at the construction site of package-15 of the Delhi–Amritsar–Katra (DAK) Expressway, near village Jakh, tehsil Vijaypur in district Samba.
According to NHAI, at the Raya Morh elevated highway project, an elevated structure comprising 14 spans, with each span consisting of 15 segments, is under construction. Of the 14 spans, 10 spans have been successfully launched.
NHAI said the launching work on the 11th span is currently in progress.
It said that during the lifting of the end portion of one of the segments, the segment slipped from the launching machine and fell to the ground.
“Regrettably, one worker lost his life in the untoward incident. NHAI expresses its deepest condolences to the bereaved family. The next of kin of the deceased worker shall be appropriately compensated in accordance with the applicable norms,” the official statement read.
It stated that the bridge segments already launched in the 11th span remained intact and all previously launched elevated bridge spans were also intact.
NHAI clarified that reports describing the incident as a collapse of the bridge were incorrect.
“There has been no structural failure of the bridge. NHAI remains firmly committed to maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety in the execution of the project. An expert team is being deputed to the site to examine the incident and review the launching process so that appropriate corrective measures can be implemented and the recurrence of such an incident is prevented,” the statement added.
NHAI also reiterated its commitment to the safe, quality-driven and timely execution of the Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway and said that it would continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the highest standards of construction and worker safety.
