 "Bihar bridge collapse")
Four lane bridge collapsed across the Ganga in Bihar on Sunday evening. The estimated cost of the four-lane Sultanganj-Aguwani Ghat bridge is Rs 1710 crore. The bridge connects Sultanganj in Bhagalpur with Khagaria.
According to an Indian Times report, at least 30 slabs of several pillars, which include pillar numbers 9, 10, and 11, measuring around 100ft collapsed. The part of the under-construction bill was destroyed deliberately, as it had some design flaws, claimed state government officials.
This is not the first incident, the same under-construction bridge collapsed in April last year. In April 2022, Loose cable was the stated reason behind the incident, whereas many people blamed the bridge collapse due to poor construction material.
CM Nitish instructed strict action
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Yadav on Monday said that the bridge wasn't constructed properly and also collapsed last year. He assured us to look into the matter and will take strict action.
While addressing the media, he said, “The bridge that collapsed yesterday had collapsed last year also. I have instructed officials to take strict action. It is not being constructed correctly that's why it is collapsing again & again. The department will look into it & action will be taken."
Bihar bridge destroyed deliberately: Tejashwi
According to a PTI report, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said that the bridge had some serious defects in its design and it was a planned demolition.
No casualties were reported so far in the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge collapse in the Bihar incident. Tejashwi Yadav while addressing the press conference along with the chief secretary of the road construction department, Pratyay Amrit, said the decision was taken as the same bridge collapsed last year as well during a thunderstorm.
Tejashwi Yadav in his press conference said, "It may be recalled that a portion of this bridge had collapsed on April 30 last year. I strongly raised it in my capacity as the then Leader of the Opposition. Upon coming to power, we ordered an inquiry and sought expert opinion…approached IIT-Roorkee, which is esteemed for its expertise in construction matters, to conduct a study. It is yet to come up with a final report but experts who had studied the structure had informed us that there were serious defects."
