Bihar's Bridge Collapse Crisis: 10 Incidents in 16 Days

Another bridge collapsed in Bihar's Saran district, making it the 10th such incident in the state within the past 16 days. No casualties were reported. The bridge failures have prompted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to order a comprehensive survey of old bridges and initiate necessary repairs.

Bihar witnessed yet another bridge collapse on Thursday, marking the state's 10th incident in just over a fortnight, according to officials.

The most recent collapse took place in Saran, which had already seen two bridge failures within the last 24 hours. District Magistrate Aman Samir confirmed there were no casualties from the incident involving a 15-year-old bridge.

This latest collapse occurred over the Gandaki river in the Baneyapur block, affecting connectivity between Saran and the neighboring Siwan district. Samir stated that while the cause is still under investigation, recent desilting work might have played a role.

Saran endured two other bridge collapses on Wednesday in Janta Bazar and Lahladpur areas, prompting a high-level probe to determine the underlying reasons behind these incidents.

Locals attributed the frequent collapses to heavy rainfall over the past few days. In total, 10 bridges have collapsed across various districts, including Siwan, Madhubani, and Kishanganj, in the last 16 days.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the road construction and rural works departments to conduct an immediate survey of all old bridges for necessary repairs. He emphasized the need for an expedited maintenance plan from the road construction department and urged the rural works department to finalize its strategy without delay.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)