Section of Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge collapses over Ganga in Bihar

Bihar Bridge Collapse — Image Source : VIDEO SCREENGRAB A portion of under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge over Ganga River collapses

A section of the under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge over the Ganga River in Bihar collapsed on Saturday morning. Khagaria's District Magistrate, Amit Kumar Pandey confirmed that the incident occurred around 8 AM, in the morning, but there were no reports of any casualties or injuries.

'Bridge slated for dismantling'

Elaborating on the details of the incident, Khagaria's District Magistrate, Amit Kumar Pandey mentioned that the bridge, which has been plagued with structural issues, was already slated for dismantling by the contractor under the direction of the Patna High Court. "The entire structure of the under-construction bridge was found to be faulty and construction work had been halted. The contractor is currently dismantling the structure as ordered by the court," Pandey told reporters. Fortunately, no casualties were reported in the collapse.

A local, Sanjeev Kumar Chaudhary said, "Around 7:00-7:30 in the morning, the bridge collapsed. It has collapsed a lot of times. It shows the failure of the government...This bridge is weak as it has collapsed a lot of times. The government is not taking care of this..."

'The bridge has troubled history'

Notably, this bridge has had a troubled history, with repeated collapse incidents reported in the last few years. The first collapse occurred on June 30, 2022, at another section of the bridge on the Bhagalpur side, when the superstructure between pillar numbers 5 and 6 fell into the Ganga River. The second collapse happened on June 4, 2023, between pillar numbers 10 and 12 on the Khagaria side, leading to widespread criticism of the Bihar government.

Further, it is pertinent to note that the collapse is the latest in a series of such incidents in Bihar, raising serious concerns about the quality of construction and oversight in the state.