Apathy or Corruption?: Part of newly built Bihar bridge collapses into river, 1 month after inauguration

New Delhi: A portion of Sattarghat Bridge on Gandak River that was inaugurated by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last month in Gopalganj collapsed on Wednesday after water flow increased in the river due to heavy rainfall.

The bridge was inaugurated by the Chief Minister on June 16

Many districts in north Bihar have lost connectivity as the bridge has been washed away. At the same time, the pressure of water has also increased at the Saran embankment and if the situation remains the same then Saran district will also be affected by floods.

Administration officials took stock of the situation on Wednesday evening. The team of engineer Abhay Kumar Prabhat, team leader of the bridge corporation, reached and assessed the damage.

#WATCH: Portion of Sattarghat Bridge on Gandak River that was inaugurated by CM Nitish Kumar last month in Gopalganj collapsed yesterday, after water flow increased in the river due to heavy rainfall. #Bihar pic.twitter.com/cndClJHIAa

— ANI (@ANI) July 16, 2020

The bridge, constructed at a cost of Rs 263.48 crore, aimed to reduce road distance between different towns of East Champaran to Gopalganj, Siwan and Saran districts.

In 2017, a minister in Nitish Kumar’s cabinet had blamed rats for making holes in the embankments for weakening the structures and allowing river water breach through them, thus resulting in floods in Bihar.

Yet another time police in the state had blamed rats for the seized bottles of liquor missing from police station stores in the state.

Opposition leaders attack CM over bridge collapse

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav slammed Nitish Kumar for collapsing of the bridge.

“The bridge washed away after around 29 days of inauguration. The bridge was being constructed for eight years. Washing away of bridges has become a common thing in Nitish Kumar’s rule. Did he inaugurate the bridge before time just to gain some appreciation? We demand that the Bihar government should immediately blacklist the company that has constructed the bridge,” said Yadav.

263 करोड़ से 8 साल में बना लेकिन मात्र 29 दिन में ढ़ह गया पुल। संगठित भ्रष्टाचार के भीष्म पितामह नीतीश जी इस पर एक शब्द भी नहीं बोलेंगे और ना ही साइकिल से रेंज रोवर की सवारी कराने वाले भ्रष्टाचारी सहपाठी पथ निर्माण मंत्री को बर्खास्त करेंगे। बिहार में चारों तरफ लूट ही लूट मची है। pic.twitter.com/EIcQYPEHn8

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) July 16, 2020

“A dam collapsed in Kahalgaon on the day of the inauguration…even rats damage the bridges in Bihar. How will the money be recovered if the bridges keep on collapsing? The Chief Minister committed 55 scams in 15 years. By paying money in RCP tax, as long as transfer posting takes place, the bridge will keep collapsing,” he alleged.

Yadav added that that the Chief Minister should give an answer to the public and media.

“In Bihar, 16,000 rape cases have been reported in 15 years. Women and girls are being raped amid the lockdown. Around 1,900 rape cases were reported in 2019. Where is good governance? Rapes are taking place in isolation wards, Nitish’s conscience has drowned in the Bay of Bengal,” said Yadav.