In another such incident which took place in a week another bridge collapsed in Bihar on Saturday. This bridge was built on the Gandak canal in Ramgarha of Daraunda block of Siwan. Just four days ago, a portion of a newly constructed bridge over the Bakra river in Bihar collapsed in Araria district on Tuesday. There have been no reports of any fatality. The bridge, constructed by the Rural Works Department (RWD) at a cost of Rs 10 crore, was not opened to the public as approach roads were yet to be constructed. The bridge was supposed to connect Kursa Kanta and Sikty areas of Araria district.
The bridge was erected over a canal, connecting the villages of Daraunda and Maharajganj blocks, and it caved in at around 5 am, said District Magistrate Mukul Kumar Gupta on Saturday. "Nobody was injured in the incident. It was a very old structure and apparently, pillars caved in when water was released through the canal. We are trying to ensure that until it is restored, residents of affected villages face as little inconvenience as possible," the DM said.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also had clarified that the construction of the bridge that collapsed in Bihar's Araria district was not undertaken by the Union Road Transport Ministry. The collapsed bridge was constructed by the Bihar Government's Rural Development Ministry, he added. The construction of the collapsed bridge in Bihar's Araria district was not carried out under the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry. The bridge was being constructed by the Bihar government's Rural Development Ministry, Gadkari said in a post on X in Hindi. The bridge, constructed by the state government, was not opened to the public as approach roads to the bridge were yet to be constructed. The bridge connects Kursa Kanta and Sikty areas of the Araria district.
In March, an under-construction bridge over the Kosi river had collapsed in Supaul district, leaving one person dead and 10 others injured.