Bihar: Under-Construction Bridge Collapses Twice
An under-construction four-lane bridge over the Ganga in Bihar's Bhagalpur came crashing down like a house of cards last evening, for the second time in a year.
An under-construction four-lane bridge over the Ganga river in Bihar came crashing down on 4th June 2023 at around 6 pm. The visuals were caught on camera and showed two parts of the bridge collapsing one after another. The Aguwani Sultanganj Ganga bridge connects Sultanganj and Khagaria districts. It was inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2014 and was to be ready by 2020. However, there was a delay. The bridge was being constructed at a cost of Rs 1,717 crore. So far, no casualties have been reported. Spotlighting the incident, Bihar BJP President Samrat Choudhary alleged that "corruption is rampant" in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government. Earlier in December 2022, a portion of the same bridge built across Burhi Gandak river in Bihar's Begusarai, had collapsed. The bridge had reportedly developed cracks and the pillars of the bridge had taken a fall.
BJP leader Amit Malviya said, “This bridge has fallen for the second time. Will Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav resign immediately, taking responsibility for this incident? By doing this, both the uncle and nephew can set an example in front of the country.” However, Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said, "Earlier when the bridge had collapsed, we were of the opinion that all the segments should undergo checks. A review meeting was also held in this regard. We had doubts over its design and had decided to demolish it and reconstruct the bridge". The Chief Minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident. He has asked for the identification of those responsible for the collapse and said strict action should be taken against the erring officials.
