New Delhi:

Eleven engineers of the water resources department in Bihar have been suspended after 10 bridges collapsed in the last 15 days across the state, a statement by the department said.

Bihar Development Secretary Chaitanya Prasad told reporters the state government is serious about the issue. He said the contractors responsible for building the bridges will be traced and held to account.

The 10th bridge that collapsed in the state was reported from Saran district on Thursday. It was also Saran district’s third bridge to fall in a span of 24 hours.

The 10 bridges that collapsed were in Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran, and Kishanganj districts.

“The Chief Minister [Nitish Kumar], after a review meeting on Wednesday, instructed officials to conduct a survey of all old bridges and identify those that require immediate repairs,” Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary told reporters, adding investigation is going on.

New Delhi:

A petition has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking to issue direction to the Bihar Government to conduct the highest level structural audit of all existing and under construction bridges in the state and to demolish or retrofit weak structure depending of feasibility in the wake of bridge collapses in the state.

The petitioner and advocate Brajesh Singh, on Wednesday, urged the top court to issue directions to the Bihar Government to conduct the audit.

The petitioner said that the instant issue of bridge collapses in Bihar requires an urgent consideration of the top court as within two years, three major under-construction bridges and other several incidents of the collapse of the large, medium and small bridges happened.

He said that in the said unfortunate man-made incidents some people succumbed and others were injured adding that in the future other incidents may also happen due to the gross negligence of the government and the corrupt nexus of the contractors and concerned agencies.

“It is a matter of grave concern that in a state like Bihar, which is the most flood-prone state of India, the total flood-affected area in the state is 68,800 sq. km which is 73.06 per cent of the total geographical area. Hence such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large are at stake. Therefore the urgent intervention of this Hon’ble Court is required to save the lives of people, as the under-construction bridges before its accomplishment collapsed routinely,” the petitioner said.

The petitioner has also sought appropriate direction specifically from the State of Bihar for making proper policy or mechanism for real-time monitoring of the bridges constructed, old and under construction concerning the bridges falling exclusively under the domain of the respondent, the state of Bihar on the same analogy as developed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, vide dated March 4, 2024, for the preservation of National Highways and Centrally Sponsored Schemes and it was issued as a mandatory Guidelines vide, subjected, identification and implementation of real-time Health Monitoring of bridges using sensors to the states including the respondent.”

The petitioner has also sought to issue direction to respondents specifically Bihar for making an efficient permanent body through legislation or executive order, comprising high-level experts from the concerned field for continuous monitoring of all the existing and under-construction bridges in Bihar and also for maintaining the comprehensive database on the health of all existing bridges in the state.

The Public Interest Litigation has highlighted various bridge collapses mostly river bridges in Araria, Siwan, Madhubani, and Kishanganj districts among others in Bihar.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Patna:

 Bihar witnessed the collapse of at least three more bridges or causeways on Wednesday, marking the ninth such incident in the rain-affected state within the past 15 days.

No casualties were reported after the three structures, built 30 to 80 years ago by local authorities, caved in during the day in Saran and Siwan districts, officials said.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, however, alleged that four bridges collapsed in a single day and the chief minister and his deputies are silent.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar directed the Road Construction Department (RCD) and Rural Works Department (RWD) to immediately conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those that require immediate repairing.

“Certain portions of bridges/causeways that caved in Siwan and Saran on Wednesday are very old,” Chaitanya Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, WRD, said in a statement.

“These structures don’t seem to have been constructed following required parameters. It also appears that the foundation was not deep enough, a reason why these structures got damaged during floods,” it said.

First, a portion of a small bridge over the Gandaki river in Deoria block of Siwan district collapsed at around 5 am.

“A portion of a bridge in Deoria block collapsed this morning,” Deputy Development Commissioner Mukesh Kumar said adding that the cause is under investigation.

Later, another small bridge reportedly met the same fate in Teghra block of the district. Despite repeated attempts, the district magistrate of Siwan was not available for his comments.

Two more small bridges also collapsed in Saran, District Magistrate Aman Samir said.

“One small bridge that collapsed in Janta Bazar area was 100 years old. Another one that caved in is located in Lahladpur area and was built 25 years ago. A high-level probe has been ordered,” Samir said.

Local people suggested that heavy rainfall for the past few days may have contributed to the collapse of these small bridges.

More than 10 such incidents of bridge collapse have been reported from different parts of the state in the last 15 days.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar directed RWD and RCD officials to immediately conduct a survey of all old bridges.

Chairing a meeting to review maintenance policies of the departments, the CM said, “The RCD has already prepared its bridge maintenance policy, and the RWD should immediately chalk out its plan at the earliest.

A total of nine bridges have collapsed in various districts such as Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj within the past 15 days.

According to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office, Kumar asked department heads to take strict action against the guilty.

Senior RJD leader, Tejashwi Yadav, wrote on X, “Four bridges collapsed in Bihar in a single day! The CM and both Dy CMs of the state are silent over it.

The NDA government should tell us who is guilty, the former deputy chief minister said.

“Apparently, since BJP is in the government, corruption and crime are no longer issues,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

An under construction bridge collapsed in Bihar’s Madhubani region on Friday in the fifth incident of its kind in the state over the last nine days.

This incident took place at Madhepur Block of Bheja police station in Madhubani district where a 75 m long bridge was under construction.

The bridge, being built at cost of Rs 3 crore, had been under construction since 2021. It was being built by the Rural Works Department of the Bihar government.

As the water levels rose, a 25 m long supporting pillar crashed into the river below.

Pictures from the site showed the fallen pillars covered with huge tarpaulin sheets.

Tejashwi Yadav, Opposition leader in Bihar assembly, was quick to spotlight the latest fall and take a swipe.

दिन के अंदर बिहार में यह वाँ पुल गिरा है।

मधुबनी-सुपौल के बीच भूतही नदी पर वर्षों से निर्माणाधीन पुल गिरा। क्या आपको पता लगा? नहीं तो, क्यों? बूझो तो जाने? #Bihar#Bridgepic.twitter.com/IirnmOzRSo

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) June 28, 2024

A bridge caved in at Kishanganj district on Thursday.

An under-construction small bridge collapsed in East Champaran district on June 23.

On June 22, a bridge, built over the Gandak canal, collapsed in Siwan.  

On June 19, a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed in Araria. The concrete bridge over the Bakra River, built after spending crores, came apart in seconds.