Bihar bridge collapse: Another bridge collapsed in Bihar today (July 4), the 10th such incident reported in the state in just over a fortnight, an official said. The latest incident was reported from Saran which witnessed two more bridge collapses in the last 24 hours, District Magistrate (DM) Aman Samir said.
No casualty was reported after the structure, built 15 years ago by local authorities, collapsed this morning, he said. The small bridge over the Gandaki River was situated in the Baneyapur block and used to connect several villages in Saran with the neighbouring Siwan district.
“The small bridge was constructed 15 years ago. I am going to the spot. Several other officials of the district administration have already reached there. The exact cause of the bridge collapse is yet to be ascertained but desilting work was recently undertaken," the district magistrate told media.
On Wednesday (July 3), the Saran district witnessed the collapse of two small bridges- one in Janta Bazar area and another in Lahladpur area.
Meanwhile, responding to media queries over multiple incidents of bridge collapse in the state, Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary said, "I am getting each and everything investigated. I have given directions for swift action. I will get a list issued - when was it built, who built it. As per the information we have received, they were built by recommendations of several MLAs. Everything is being investigated. Action will be taken, there is no doubt about it. Action will be taken against negligent officers."
Investigation underway
“A high-level probe has been ordered to find out the reason for the collapse of these small bridges in the district," the DM said.
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.
Survey of old bridges
The latest incident took place a day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar directed the road construction and rural works departments to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those that require immediate repair.
The CM had on Wednesday (July 3) chaired a meeting to review the maintenance policies and said the road construction department has already prepared its bridge maintenance policy and the rural works department should immediately chalk out its plan at the earliest.
Bihar bridge collapse: PIL filed in Supreme Court
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking a structural audit of all the recently completed, under-construction, and old bridges in Bihar. The plea seeks directions to the Bihar government to establish a permanent body, comprising high-level experts, for continuous monitoring of all the existing and under-construction bridges and maintaining a comprehensive database on the health of all existing bridges.
The PIL filed by advocate Brajesh Singh said that the instant issue requires an urgent consideration of the apex court as within the last two years, three major under-construction bridges and several other incidents of bridge collapse happened in Bihar.
“Back-to-back collapse of bridges in Bihar clearly indicates that there have been no lessons learnt and safety of critical infrastructure like bridges is not taken seriously. These routine incidents cannot be termed merely accidents, they are manmade disasters,” it said.
The plea added that Bihar is the most flood-prone state in India. The total flood-affected area in the state is 68,800 sq. km. which is 73.06 per cent of its total geographical area hence such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous and therefore the urgent intervention of the Supreme Court is required to save the lives of people at large.
The PIL sought directions to the Bihar government to make a proper policy or mechanism for real-time monitoring of the bridges constructed, old and under construction on the same analogy as developed by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
(With agencies inputs)
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