Frequent Bridge Collapses in Bihar Raise Quality Concerns

In Bihar, a portion of a bridge over the Kiul river in Lakhisarai district tilted, marking the second bridge incident in 24 hours. Officials are investigating. These incidents raise quality concerns as dozens of bridges have collapsed recently. Opposition blames government corruption for these failures.

In a concerning development, a portion of a bridge over the Kiul river in Bihar's Lakhisarai district tilted on Monday, marking the second such incident in the state within 24 hours, according to officials.

The previous night, a portion of the under-construction Bakhtiyarpur-Tajpur Ganga Mahasetu bridge had collapsed in Patna district.

Lakhisarai's District Magistrate Mithilesh Mishra told PTI, 'I received information in the evening that a portion of the Malia Tetarhat bridge over the Kiul river has tilted on one side. I have asked the concerned officer to look into the matter and provide a report by tomorrow.' He added that appropriate actions would be taken to repair the damage, and the cause would be determined from the report.

The bridge, which was built by the Road Construction Department and inaugurated in 2014, has raised local concerns.

Over the past few months, dozens of bridges and causeways have collapsed across Bihar, casting doubt on the quality of their construction.

In response, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed a survey of all old bridges in the state.

Reacting to Sunday's bridge collapse, opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged, 'The incident proves that the very foundation of the NDA government is based on commission, bribery, institutional corruption, financial irregularities, illegal extortion, and organized loot by criminals and officials.' He noted that the bridge on the approach road of the Samastipur-Bakhtiyarpur-Tajpur Ganga Mahasetu, which cost Rs 1,603 crores, collapsed last night. Adding to the concern, another bridge constructed for crores of rupees over the Barnar river in Jamui also collapsed recently despite a recent inspection by the CM.'

(With inputs from agencies.)