Another bridge fell in Bihar on Tuesday (16th July) evening, marking the 15th such incident in the state in the past four weeks. According to an official, the latest bridge that collapsed was located on the Parman River in Amhara village in Araria district’s Forbesganj block. It is believed that the bridge was washed away due to severe flooding.
Araria district magistrate Enayat Khan informed the media that the bridge was built by the Rural Works Department (RWD) in FY 2008-09. The bridge served as a link between Gopalpur and Majhua areas, connecting Forbesganj, Amhara and several other villages. However, it was destroyed during the 2017 floods, following which it was officially closed to vehicular traffic.
It has been alleged that due to poor construction quality, the bridge could not withstand the force of rising water.
Local villagers and Sarpanch of Madhwa Panchayat commented on the matter and said that the bridge was not in good condition and the officials were informed about it, but no action was taken. ”The condition of the bridge deteriorated and the leaders and officials had seen it for themselves. An assurance was given that the bridge would be repaired very soon. But the officials did not pay any attention and the bridge was finally washed away by water,” Vaidyanath Paswan, former Sarpanch, Madhwa Panchayat said.
”This bridge used to be the main link road, but today it has collapsed. If the water level rises further, then the traffic will be completely disrupted. In such a situation, if someone falls ill today, how will he be taken to the hospital?” Manoj Vishwas, a villager of Madhwa Panchayat asked.
Earlier on 4th July, two bridges in Saran district had collapsed due to heavy rainfall in the state of Bihar. No casualties were reported. As reported, both the bridges that collapsed were constructed over the Gandaki River.
On June 22nd, a portion of a bridge collapsed in the Darounda area of Siwan. This came 4 days after a bridge collapse was reported from the Araria district.
On June 18th, a large segment of an 182-meter bridge fell in Sikti, Araria. The bridge, built for Rs 12 crore, had recently been completed. Only approach roads on either side had to be built before its opening.
On March 22nd, one laborer was killed and eight others injured when three slabs of an under-construction bridge over the Kosi River in Supaul collapsed. The 10.5-kilometer-long bridge, valued at more than Rs 1,200 crore, is to be built between Bakour in Supaul and Bheja in Madhubani.
Prabin Kumar, the executive engineer (RWD) of the Araria division, stated that the current bridge collapse was ruled unsafe for usage in 2017. “However, it was repaired and renovated in Fiscal Year 2020-21. “Our office has sent a checklist of this bridge to higher-level officials in the department,” he said.
Two weeks ago, the state government suspended 15 engineers in connection with the string of bridge collapses. The decision was made after an inquiry team submitted its findings to the Water Resources Department (WRD).
The assessment concluded that engineers were negligent and monitoring was inefficient, which is the main reason for the collapse of small bridges and causeways across the state, Chaitanya Prasad, additional chief secretary of WRD was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
