Another Bridge Collapses in Bihar, 13th Such Incident in Over 3 Weeks

Patna: Yet another bridge has collapsed in Bihar on Wednesday, making it the 13th such incident in the state in a span of three weeks. There were no reports of any injury or fatality.

The bridge collapsed at Mahishi village in Saharsa district earlier in the day, said an official.

“It might be a small bridge or causeway. District officials have left for the spot. We are trying to gather more information about the incident,” said Additional Collector (Saharsa), Jyoti Kumar.

Earlier last week, the Bihar government has suspended at least 15 engineers in connection with the series of recent incidents of bridge collapse reported from various districts, including Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj. The decision was taken after a probe panel submitted its report to the Water Resources Department (WRD).

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had last week instructed officials to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those that require immediate repair.

A total of 10 bridges collapsed in Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts in the past 20 days.

The report found that the engineers were “negligent” and monitoring was “ineffective”, which is the main reason behind the collapse of small bridges and causeways in the state, Additional Chief Secretary of WRD, Chaitanya Prasad, told reporters here.

Those suspended include four executive engineers.

“The Rural Works Department has also initiated the process of blacklisting the contractor who was involved in the construction of the bridge in Araria district. The department has also stopped payment of the contractor/firm for its previous work till the completion of the probe,” said Dipak Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, RWD.

Besides, the department has sought explanation from officials concerned for the collapse of bridges in East Champaran on June 23 and in Madhubani on June 26.

“A probe has already been ordered into the collapse of RWD bridges in these two districts,” said Singh.

Commenting on the bridge collapse incidents, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav told reporters: “Why are leaders of the NDA-led Bihar government, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, maintaining a stoic silence… These incidents prove how corruption is rampant in the ruling dispensation."

“The portfolio of the RWD, which constructs most of the small bridges in the state, is always with JD(U) leaders. Who should be held responsible for this mess?” the former deputy CM said.