The devastating collapse of the unfinished Vivekananda flyover has caused a monumental tragedy in the heart of North Kolkata. On a summer morning, when the whole of West Bengal has been gearing up for the upcoming Assembly Elections due later this month, this unfortunate incident brought much grief and bereavement all around. At present, 24 dead bodies have been identified. More than a hundred people have been rescued from under the debris and are admitted in several hospitals and nursing homes in Kolkata.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and several other leading politicians have expressed their concern and offered condolences for the tragic incident in Kolkata.  There has been a formal announcement on part of the government that a compensation of Rs 5 lakh will be given to the families of the deceased whereas Rs 3 lakh would be given to the injured.

According to eye witness accounts and CCTV footage, rescue operation had been sluggish to say the least. Local people have criticized that callousness of the local administration and the police’s reaction to the situation was appalling. Locals joined hands with the authorities in the rescue operations and the whole process received a great boost when NDRF joined the operations with its specialized team. The CCTV footage aired in TV channels clearly showed the busy street with two auto rickshaws and crowd of people suddenly being obliterated by concrete falling down from above. Most of the injured persons have been taken to nearby Kolkata Medical College Hospital after the disaster struck at around noon.

One of the eye witnesses added that two buses carrying more than 100 passengers were trapped. Apart from that eight taxis and six auto rickshaws were partly visible in the site of the mishap. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed to the scene remarked, "We will take every action to save lives of those trapped beneath the collapsed flyover. Rescue is our top priority. Stringent action will be taken against officials of the construction company and others involved." Incidentally the Kolkata office of the Indian company IVRCL, which was in charge of building the 2-km (1.2-mile) Vivekananda Road flyover was closed after the mishap. There has been much social media outrage over the comment of Panduranga Rao of IVRCL Construction Company who said “It is nothing but an act of God.”

Incidentally the construction of this Vivekananda flyover began in around 12.45 PM, the Vivekananda Flyover, which was under construction, suddenly fell down near the Vivekananda Road. The Posta- Burrabazar locality itself is one of the most congested regions of Kolkata. The horrific incident thus took away more lives than any other flyover mishap. The deadline of the completion of the task was 2012. Many a time the construction process stopped and even in 2016, the flyover is yet to be completed. There are speculations from many sources that the ruling TMC government pressurized the concerned authorities to complete the construction before the West Bengal Assembly Elections.