Patna: A portion of an under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge over the Ganga river in Bhagalpur district collapsed Sunday evening. No casualties were reported in the incident, officials said. Incidentally, this is the second time that a portion of the bridge has collapsed, the earlier instance being in April 2022.
At the time, the state road construction department had said that the bridge collapsed due to storms — an excuse that was mocked by Union minister Nitin Gadkari.
This time, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe. “Those found guilty will not be spared,” he said in a statement, as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that it was reflective of rampant corruption.
“The spans between pillar 9 and 13 of the bridge over the Ganga, which is being built to connect Bhagalpur with Khagaria district, collapsed in the evening. The length of the structure that fell was around 250-300 metres. There were no casualties as the bridge was not open for the public,” Kumar Anurag, Bhagalpur Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC), told ThePrint.
Anurag, who holds additional charge of Bhagalpur district magistrate, added that no labour force was around the site when the incident happened.
The bridge — which is 3.6 km long and costs Rs 1,711 crore — is touted as being Nitish’s dream project. The foundation stone was laid with much fanfare in February 2014, and the project was nearing completion. It was expected to be inaugurated later this year.
According to the engineers with the road construction department, the bridge, once complete, will connect National Highways 31 to 107, which will help cut travel time and benefit several districts.
Meanwhile, deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, who also holds charge of the road construction department, speaking to the media Sunday evening said that IIT Roorkee had hinted at serious design flaws in the bridge. He also asked Bihar’s principal secretary (road construction) Pratyaya Amrit to conduct a thorough probe into the matter.
“In April last year, when I was leader of the Opposition in the assembly, I had expressed serious doubts about the bridge. When I came to power, I had the bridge examined by IIT Roorkee experts. The report is yet to come, but it does hint towards a faulty design,” Yadav said.
The bridge is being built by private firm S.P. Singla Constructions. According to government sources, the company has already missed several deadlines and the collapse will only further delay completion.
According to news reports, work on the project was slated to be completed by March 2019, but even 25 per cent of the work had not been done by then. Later, the state government reportedly extended the deadline to March 2020, which was further extended to 2022.
“The bridge comes under Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd, a Bihar government undertaking. We have formed a team of officials and engineers to probe the collapse,” DDC Anurag said.
ThePrint reached the Patna office of S.P. Singla Constructions via call and the company by email but did not receive a response. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
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Opposition alleges corruption
Speaking to ThePrint, Janata Dal (United) MLA from Parbatta (Khagaria) Sanjeev Kumar said he had raised questions about the quality of work being done on the bridge in the assembly last year.
“An FIR should be registered against the construction company and a high-level probe be conducted,” he said.
Kumar was not the only JD(U) MLA to question the quality of work. Another party MLA, Lalit Narayan Mandal, from Sultanganj (Bhagalpur) last year had alleged corruption and irregularities in its construction, show media reports.
Engineers of the road construction department, who wished to not be named, also expressed doubts about the design of the bridge.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has launched an attack on Nitish Kumar, alleging rampant corruption.
“When the under-construction bridge collapsed the first time, Bihar was mocked for the excuse that the bridge collapsed due to a thunderstorm. Till date, the government has not come out with a report on the first collapse. Now, it has happened for the second time. It shows the rampant corruption taking place in Bihar,” Vijay Kumar Sinha, Leader of the Opposition in the assembly, told ThePrint.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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