In Bihar, ‘thunderstorm’ blows portion of bridge

NEW DELHI: Despite all the efforts by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to ‘restore' its glory through infrastructural augmentation, it has become a living example of government officials' apathy and ignorance as the state government faced another major embarrassment on Saturday when a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed due to a ‘thunderstorm' in Bihar's Bhagalpur district.

Bihar, which has now become a 'depository' of bizarre incidents, the collapse of a portion of the bridge is a first-of-its-kind incident in the state, which is under Nitish Kumar's regime for over a decade.

Though the CM has ordered a probe into the matter, questions are being raised about the quality of material used in the construction of the bridge by constructing agency SP Singla. The bridge collapsed on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday and no casualty has been reported.

The four-lane Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge, which is being constructed to connect Khagaria and Bhagalpur districts, is an ambitious project of the Nitish Kumar government and the foundation of the bridge was laid by the chief minister Nitish Kumar on February 23, 2014. The project was slated to be completed in 2019, which got delayed due to a land acquisition issue.

The 3,160-meter-long bridge is being constructed with an estimated cost of Rs 1,710 crore with provisions of a toll plaza and dolphin viewpoint. The bridge would link NH-31 and 107 to reduce the distance between Sultanagnj, Khagaria, Saharsa, Supaul, Madhepura, and other districts.

The incident has also come as a shocker for Bihar's Road Construction Minister Nitin Nabin, who had recently visited Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to expedite national highway projects in the state.

As per official sources, the contractor had not adhered to safety guidelines of the NHAI and mounted the blocks on the superstructure spanning 100 feet between pole numbers 4 and 6 from the Sultanganj end without hinging it with the base structure. The project was rescheduled to be completed by December this year.

However, Pratyaya Amrit, the additional chief secretary (RCD), and Engineer-in-chief Hanuman Prasad Choudhary remained incommunicado over the issue.

In a related development, a team of experts from NIT Patna has reached the site to probe the incident. Also, IIT Roorkee's HOD Dr. Bhargava, along with a team of bridge experts, would reach Sultanganj on Monday.

Though the CM has ordered a probe into the matter, questions are being raised about the quality of material used in the construction of the bridge