PATNA: The collapse of an under-construction bridge on the Ganga river in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district two days ago has generated political heat in the state with Opposition demanding a probe by a central agency.
Bihar BJP on Tuesday demanded that the matter should be handed over to CBI as it involved huge public money. Leader of Opposition in Bihar assembly Navin Kumar Sinha said that the CBI probe would unravel the truth behind the collapse of the bridge.
“The bridge collapsed for the second time in the last year. This shows the quality of the material being used in the construction work. Even Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had expressed his displeasure over the poor quality of work,” he said.
Earlier, state chief of the saffron party Samrat Choudhary demanded the resignation of chief minister Nitish Kumar on moral grounds. “Corruption is prevalent and the collapse of an under-construction bridge is not an isolated case,” he told the media.
On Tuesday, LJP (Ram Vilas) chief and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan alleged that public money was being plundered in Bihar and the collapse of the bridge in Bhagalpur is one of the examples.
Ruling JD(U) turned down the demand for a CBI probe saying that the state investigating agency is fair enough to conduct a thorough investigation. JD(U) MLC and chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, “There is no need for a probe handed over to any central investigating agency.”
Taking a jibe at BJP, Neeraj said, “Why a CBI probe was not ordered into the collapse of a bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi in which 135 people were killed.” He also described the order of a CBI probe into the Odisha train mishap as not ‘fair.’
Meanwhile, Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said that the company that had been awarded a contract for the construction of the bridge between Aguwani Ghat and Sultanganj has been slapped with show cause notice. In addition, the executive engineer concerned has been put under suspension by the road construction department.