Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari
Highlights
- A section of an under-construction road bridge over the Ganga had collapsed in Bihar last month
- The bridge is one of the most ambitious projects of govt. Its foundation stone was laid in 2014
- The construction of the bridge between Sultanganj and Aguani Ghat was due to be completed in 2019
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari wondered how a bridge can collapse due to 'strong winds'. Speaking at an event, the Road Transport and Highways Minister said that he was amazed at the response given to him by an IAS officer when he asked about the reason behind the collapse of a bridge in Bihar's Sultanganj.
A section of an under-construction road bridge over the Ganga at Sultanganj in Bihar collapsed during a thunderstorm on April 29. There were no reports of any casualty in the incident.
"A bridge fell in Bihar on April 29. I asked my secretary about the reasons. He (secretary) said it was on account of strong winds (hawa aur dhundh)," Gadkari said.
"Mere to baat samajh me nahi aa rahi hai ki hawa dhundh se kaise bridge girega? Kuch naa kuch galati hogi (I cannot understand how can a bridge collapse due to strong winds. There must be some error (which led to collapse of the bridge)," Gadkari, who is known for his frank views, added.
The construction of the bridge between Sultanganj and Aguani Ghat in Bihar had started in 2014. It was due to be completed in 2019 but work on it is still on. The 3,116-metre-long bridge on completion was slated to have the country's longest extradosed spans and a high-level observatory which would offer the users a unique view of the river.
An extradosed bridge is a hybrid structure between the classic cable-stayed and cantilever-girder types.
READ MORE: Bihar: Part of under-construction bridge worth Rs 1,710 cr collapses due to thunderstorm
