PATNA: In yet another incident of bridge collapse in Bihar, a portion of a bridge on Friday collapsed due to flood water in Bhagalpur district, inviting sharp criticism from the Opposition. No one was injured in the incident.
In a statement released by the Bhagalpur district magistrate (DM) office, one of the pillars subsided due to excessive rise in water level, caused by heavy rainfall in the state.
The bridge connects Pirpainti Dominia Chowk and Babupur via Bakhtiyarpur Road as road traffic was massively disrupted after a portion of it collapsed. The district administration has prohibited two-wheeler riders and pedestrians from crossing any bridges due to rising floodwaters.
Bhagalpur DM Nawal Kishor Choudhary has ordered the installation of barricades on both sides of the collapsed road to ensure public safety.
The bridge was constructed in 2004. Around 20 big and small bridges have collapsed in the past few months. The incidents of bridge collapse took place in Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts.
Meanwhile, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav attacked the Nitish Kumar-led government following the latest bridge collapse. “Another bridge collapsed in Bhagalpur, Bihar. In Nitish Kumar’s regime, the roots of corruption are as deep as the pillars of the bridges are shallow.
Therefore, in the last 2-3 months, hundreds of bridges, small bridges and mega bridges built or under construction at a cost of thousands of crores have collapsed,” he wrote on ‘X’.
“How dare you have ever heard the CM make a statement on the corruption in these falling bridges or has he ever taken any action against the big whale of corruption? How will he do it? He is the one who has made the whale by feeding those small fish,” he wrote.