Bhubaneswar, Feb. 18 -- Fresh political heat surrounded Berhampur's Haldiapadar overbridge in Ganjam district on Wednesday as allegations emerged that its design may have been altered to safeguard lands linked to former minister Surjya Narayan Patro and a former Berhampur Mayor.

These serious irregularities are to be blamed for repeated fatal accidents in the overbridge that have claimed the lives of several passengers ever since its inauguration.

MLAs from both the BJP and Congress demanded an answer regarding the bridge's allegedly flawed structure.

Sanakhemundi Congress MLA Ramesh Jena questioned whether the flyover alignment was altered to serve vested interests. He alleged that the bridge design was modified to avoid land owned by...