As Bihar witnessed nearly 12 cases of bridge collapse incidents, an official from the state’s Water Resources Department, on Thursday pointed out at the potential lapses by engineers and contractors involved in recent de-siltation efforts.
As per media reports, Additional Chief Secretary of the state Water Resources Department Chaitanya Prasad blamed the engineers of not taking proper care and further accused the contractors of not being diligent.
The official’s remarks came soon after one more bridge collapsed in Bihar’s Saran district on Thursday, marking the twelfth such incident within span of 17 days. Over the past fortnight, the bridges that have collapsed were located in the districts of Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj.
Speaking to the media, Prasad said, “Six bridges collapsed on the river Gandak in Siwan and Saran on July 3 and July 4. It appears that engineers didn’t exercise proper care, and contractors were not diligent either.”
He further said, “Engineers concerned seem at fault prima facie. Special flying squads have been dispatched to the sites with a deadline of Friday to submit their report.”
Talking about the corrective measures undertaken by the Bihar government, as quoted by India Today, Prasad said, “New bridges will be constructed, and the cost will be imposed on the contractors found guilty”.
“Most of these bridges were thirty years old with shallow foundations. These foundations were eroded during de-siltation,” he stated.
The Additional Chief Secretary added that all bridges that cross thirty years of service will be inspected for faults and necessary repairs will be undertaken.
On Wednesday, the Saran district witnessed the collapse of two small bridges – one in the Janta Bazar area and another in the Lahladpur area.
According to locals, heavy rainfall for the last few days in the district might have contributed to the collapse of these small bridges.
Altogether 10 bridges collapsed in Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts in the past 16 days.
Commenting on recent incidents of bridge collapse in Bihar, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary on Thursday told reporters, “The CM, after a review meeting on Wednesday, has given a clear instruction to officials concerned to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those that require immediate repair. The CM has also asked departments concerned to immediately prepare their respective maintenance policy for bridges or causeways in the state.” Chaudhary, also the state BJP president, said the government has already ordered a probe into the bridge collapse incidents to find out the reasons and strict action would be taken against the guilty.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, however, claimed that 12 bridges have collapsed in Bihar since June 18.
In a post on X on Thursday, he wrote, “Twelve bridges have collapsed in Bihar since June 18…Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are silent over these incidents in Bihar. What happened to the claims of good governance and corruption-free government? These incidents show how corruption is rampant in every department of the state government.”
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