Bridge Over Ganga In Bihar Collapses: Planned Demolition

Bridge Over Ganga in Bihar Collapses: Planned Demolition, Says State

News highlights

Under-construction bridge over the Ganga river in Bihar collapses due to serious design defects.
No casualties were reported in the incident; government takes action based on previous collapse and expert analysis.
State government to consider FIR and blacklisting of the company responsible; vulnerable parts of the bridge already demolished.

Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav stated that the collapse of an under-construction bridge over the Ganga river in Bihar was a planned demolition, citing serious defects in its design, as per news agency PTI. Videos of the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge collapsing went viral on social media, leading to sharp criticisms from the opposition BJP. Fortunately, there were no casualties reported in the incident.

#WATCH | Under construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihar’s Bhagalpur collapses. The moment when bridge collapsed was caught on video by locals. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. Further details awaited.

(Source: Video shot by locals) pic.twitter.com/a44D2RVQQO

— ANI (@ANI) June 4, 2023

During a press conference, Yadav, accompanied by Pratyay Amrit, the additional chief secretary of the road construction department, revealed that the decision to demolish parts of the bridge was made after a section of it collapsed during a thunderstorm in 2022. In response, the government had enlisted the assistance of researchers at IIT-Roorkee to analyze the structure.

#WATCH | Bihar: Latest visuals from the spot in Bhagalpur where under construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge collapsed for the second time yesterday pic.twitter.com/c76IMqNZai

— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2023

Amrit explained that the government did not want to wait for the final report before taking action due to concerns about the flawed bridge. Yadav emphasized that a portion of the bridge had previously collapsed on April 30 the previous year, which he had raised while serving as the Leader of the Opposition. After assuming power, an inquiry was initiated, and expert opinion was sought. IIT-Roorkee, renowned for its expertise in construction matters, was approached to conduct a study. While the final report is pending, experts who examined the structure informed the government about the existence of serious defects.

Yadav mentioned that once the final report is received, which is expected shortly, the state government will consider actions such as filing FIR and blacklisting the company responsible for the contract. Due to structural flaws, several vulnerable parts of the bridge, built at an estimated cost of INR 1,700 crore, have already been dismantled.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar instructed Amrit to submit a detailed report on the incident and emphasized the need for strict action against those responsible.