Bihar: Another under-construction bridge collapses in Katihar; several labourers injured

Three months after an under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihar, another bridge met with a similar fate on Sunday in Bihar's Katihar district. While no deaths have been reported in the incident so far, several labourers have been injured in the incident.

The incident took place in Bihar's Katihar district in Barari when works were underway at the reinforced cement concrete (RCC) bridge. The injured labourers were immediately referred to the Purnia government medical college and hospital for treatment.

Following the tragic incident, JDU Bararai MLA, Vijay Singh spoke to ANI and assured the incident will be investigated thoroughly and that the people responsible will be punished accordingly. Calling it a "sad incident", Singh further said that the foundation stone for the bridge was laid around 5-6 months back. 

Reacting to the same, former RJD MLA, Niraj Yadav alleged negligence by the concerned department in the work and further claimed that two child labourers are also stuck after the incident. 

"Negligence is being done in the work due to the collusion of the sensor and the departmental officers. There are two child labourers also stuck after the incident, which the administration is not disclosing," he said.

The bridge which was being initiated under the Centre's Mukhyamantri Grameen Sampark Yojna was being constructed over the Kosi river near Nata Tola under Dummar panchayat. It has been aimed to help the people living across the two blocks of Katihar Sameli and Barari receive proper connectivity. 

Incidents of under-construction bridges collapsing in Bihar

Notably, three incidents of bridges collapsing have been reported in Bihar in the past few months raising questioning over the quality of work and also the material being used for construction. Earlier, under-construction bridges in the Kishanganj, Saharsa, and Bhagalpur districts collapsed right before their inauguration.

Among them, the recent one took in the Bhagalpur district when a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed due to a thunderstorm in the area. The bridge which was worth Rs 1,710 crore went down as it could not withstand the storm. Speaking over the same, Sultanganj JDU MLA Lalit Narayan Mandal had claimed that the incident was due to the use of degraded quality material. 

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also ordered an investigation into the matter. 

Image: ANI