Bihar: Part of Rs 1,700 crore bridge collapses in Bhagalpur, 16th such incident since June
This marked the third time in three years that a section of the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge has collapsed into the Ganga river.
A section of a bridge being built in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district collapsed into the Ganga river on Saturday, reported The Indian Express.
No casualties were reported.
The incident marked the third time that a section of the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge, which is being built at a cost of Rs 1,710 crore, has collapsed in the last three years.
Sections of the cable-stayed structure had collapsed into the river on April 27, 2022, and June 4, 2023.
Khagaria District Magistrate Amit Kumar Pandey told PTI: “The entire structure of the under-construction bridge has been deemed to be faulty and it is being dismantled by the contractor as per direction of the Patna High Court.”
Saturday’s incident also marked the sixteenth bridge collapse in Bihar since June.
Earlier this year, the state government suspended 15 engineers in connection with the incidents, according to The Indian Express.
The Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge is a flagship project of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) government.
It has been under construction since 2014 and was slated for completion by November 2019. Only 45% of the work has been completed so far.
Once built, the 3.16-km-long bridge will connect Bihar’s Kosi region in the north, comprising Khagaria, Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul districts, to Bhagalpur, Munger and Jamui districts in the south. It will also facilitate travel to Deoghar and Godda districts in the adjacent state of Jharkhand.
The revised deadline for the bridge’s completion is December. It is being built by SP Singla Constructions Private Limited.
On August 10, a bridge collapsed in Paharpur village of the Raghopur block in Bihar’s Vaishali district.
On August 8, a bridge being built over the Ganga river in Katihar district collapsed. This was the fourteenth such incident in the state since June, according to The Hindu.
In the first week of June, at least three bridges collapsed in Saran district amidst incessant rain.
Similar incidents were reported in Siwan, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts, prompting the state government to set up a high-level committee to investigate them.
On July 29, the Supreme Court notified the Bihar government on a petition calling for a comprehensive structural audit of all existing and under-construction bridges in the state.
The petitioner said that any bridges found to be structurally weak should be demolished or retrofitted.
