A portion of an under-construction bridge in Bihar's Khagaria District crashed into the river Ganges river on Saturday, officials said. According to the officials privy to the matter, no casualties were reported following the incident.
The incident came against the backdrop of numerous incidents of bridge collapse across the state within a few months that triggered a political slugfest in the state.
In a viral video, locals were heard screaming after beholding the sight of the portion of the bridge collapsing from a distance. Notably, portions of the bridge had also collapsed earlier in 2022 and again, a year later.
Commenting on the incident, Khagaria District Magistrate Amit Kumar Pandey asserted, "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".
Blame is on Nitish Kumar Government
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, a former deputy chief minister who held road construction portfolio till his party lost power in January this year, squarely blamed the Nitish Kumar government for the incident.
"The structure was examined by a committee of experts from IIT Roorkee when I headed the department. They found flaws in the designs of the foundation and the superstructure. But Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seems least bothered and it appears the report is gathering dust".
Senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha, the current Deputy CM who holds road construction department, retorted, "Things would not have come to this, had the previous government been vigilant enough".
"Nonetheless, we are not happy with the performance of the contractor whom the high court has directed to carry out the dismantling work. We are monitoring it. We shall also be apprising the high court of the laxity of the contractor, against whom action needs to be taken," Sinha added.
