Bridge collapses in Bihar: 11 engineers suspended; Nitish orders rebuilding of new bridges
Following the collapse of 12 bridges in Bihar over the course of two weeks, the state administration suspended up to 11 engineers Friday. The state administration, led by Nitish Kumar, has also ordered the rebuilding of the new bridges.
Chaitanya Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary of the State Water Resources Department, blamed the engineers of not taking sufficient care and emphasized the contractors’ diligence in the occurrences.
Also read: Yet another bridge falls in Bihar; 12th such incident in last 17 days
The story of falling bridges
The latest and the 12th bridge collapsed in Bihar’s Saran district on Thursday. This was Saran’s third bridge collapse in only two days, according to District Magistrate Aman Samir.
There were no injuries in the collapse of the 15-year-old bridge over the Gandaki River, which connected Saran villages to the neighboring Siwan area. The cause is still being investigated, but officials have noted recent desilting work in the area.
On Wednesday, two of Saran’s three bridges on the Gandak River, separated by only a kilometer fell within two hours. One bridge, built in 2004, was located near the Dodh Nath Temple. The other was a British-era construction.
A third bridge, a 15-year-old structure over the Gandaki, fell on Thursday.
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The collapse has sparked a political firestorm, with the ruling Nitish Kumar government swapping accusations with the opposition over who should be held accountable. While Building Construction Minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary blamed then-Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav for failing to implement a good bridge maintenance policy when he was the state’s road construction and building construction minister, the latter responded that it was a case of “pot calling the kettle black”.
