Portion of old pier in Puducherry collapses

Incident happened around 1 a.m. on Sunday and there was no loss of life

The old pier, which in recent years had shown signs of instability, collapsed in the early hours of Sunday. However, there was no loss of life.

Sources said the incident occurred around 1 a.m. and the central portion of the pier collapsed.

Built in 1962, the old pier located near the port office on the south end of the Promenade extended 210 metres into the sea.

“The pier was originally built to transport cargo in wooden boats from ships anchored 2 km off the Puducherry coast. A railway line also existed on the top of the pier and the goods from boats were lifted through cranes and shifted to godowns in the port.”

“The railway line that extended from the end of the pier to the godown was dismantled subsequently and covered with concrete flooring. The pier was subsequently abandoned in 2004 and the port operations were shifted to the new port in Uppalam,” an official said.

Sources in the Port Department said the structure remained in a dilapidated condition for a long time. The long overdue work of the pier including replacement of the beams and strengthening of the weaker parts of the structure was not taken up.

The pier was used by locals for years. The iron beams on the side of it had corroded.