Even as the State’s road construction department issued a show cause notice to the company that built the Aguwani-Sultanganj link, records reveal that nine other bridges have collapsed over the last three years.
Bihar’s road construction department (RCD) served a show cause notice to SP Singla Constructions Pvt Ltd asking why the government should not blacklist the company, giving it a 15-day period to answer.
The 3.16-km-long, four-lane bridge over the river Ganga, connecting north and south Bihar, built between Sultanganj in Bhagalpur and Aguwani in Khagaria district, collapsed on June 4. Constructed at the cost of ₹1,716 crore, it came down for the second time during construction. The company is said to be constructing another bridge over the Ganga in Mokama.
Also Read | Strict action to be taken against those found guilty in bridge collapse: Nitish
Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav who holds the portfolio of road construction, said that the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee is investigating the bridge collapse and after its report, action would be taken against the people responsible. Meanwhile, the Opposition has demanded a CBI enquiry, which Mr. Yadav said was not necessary. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also been filed in the Patna Court seeking a judicial inquiry into the bridge collapse.
A show cause notice has been served to Niraj Saxena, the managing director of Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited (BRPNNL), a wing of the RCD that is monitoring the construction. “We have also suspended Yogendra, the executive engineer of the Khagaria division for dereliction of duty,” said Pratyaya Amrit, additional principal secretary of the RCD.
“The contractor will have to pay for the damage, and we will ensure to get the money back,” Mr. Yadav said, adding that when pillars had fallen on April 30, he had expressed doubts as leader of the Opposition. “Now the entire bridge will be reconstructed in the stipulated timeframe,” Mr. Yadav said.
Several transfers have taken place in the State, including assistant engineer Pamit Kumar Sahni being shifted to BRPNNL from RCD; Vijay Kumar from the health department to additional chief engineer of BRPNNL; and Sunil Kumar who was additional chief engineer being made secretary, planning and administration.
This is the tenth bridge collapse over the past three years, with five (including this one) just in 2023. On May 16, an under construction 20.10-metre-long bridge over the Dumuhni stream at Baisi in Purnia district of northeast Bihar collapsed, hours after the concretisation work on it.
Similarly, on March 19, 2023, two people were injured after a bridge on the Mahanadi river collapsed in Saran district. The injured were the driver and helper of a stone-chip-laden truck passing over the bridge, which fell under the weight of the vehicle. Similar incidents took place in January and February. There have also been collapses with a couple of bridges dating back to the British era.
In July 2020, a portion of the 9.1-km-long Sattarghat bridge constructed at the cost of ₹263.47 crore in Gopalganj district had collapsed after 29 days of its inauguration by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Mr. Yadav, then the leader of the Opposition had slammed Mr. Kumar for the bridge collapse. “…Father of organised corruption Nitish Kumar will not utter a word on this, nor will he suspend his corrupt road minister. It’s loot all over Bihar,” Mr. Yadav had tweeted at that time.
