Bihar govt wakes up after 5 bridges collapse in 10 days, asks departments to explain

According to government sources, the state government has sought detailed reports from various departments, including its rural works and the building construction, on the bridge collapse. It is also learnt to have asked its departments to issue notices flagging “grave lapses” — such as the use of substandard material in construction, and poor maintenance — to the agencies and contractors involved in their construction.

Significantly, it’s the Bihar government that’s responsible for structural audits of bridges in the state.

So far, the government has not blacklisted any contractor. “We are waiting for their reports before taking the next course of action,” a senior official at the Chief Minister’s Office told The Indian Express.

The government action is learnt to have come after the Bihar Engineering Services Association (BESA) — an independent network of people associated with Bihar’s engineering services — warned about more such incidents unless there’s some form of government intervention.

“There is an urgent need of a third-party inspection as suspending engineers or punishing contractors would not serve any purpose,” senior BESA functionary, J.K. Dutt said.

This comes days after the collapse of a 77-metre girder from an under-construction bridge over the Kosi river in Madhubani.

This was the 13th bridge collapse since April 2022, when the superstructure of an under-construction bridge in Bhagalpur’s Sultanganj collapsed due to strong winds.

The rising collapse of bridges has set alarm bells ringing across the state, with Opposition parties such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) seeking accountability. In a caustic post on X on Saturday, RJD leader and former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav: “Under Bihar’s double-engine government, only five bridges have collapsed in a matter of nine days…. Some people may still call such huge losses of crores of rupees not ‘bhrashtachar‘ (corruption) but ‘shishtachar‘ (ethics)… Those responsible for the collapse of bridges should resign”.

Recent collapse & what has been done so far

Madhubani: On 27 June, a 77-metre girder bridge that collapsed Friday came under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and was being constructed at cost of Rs 2.98 crore by the rural development department of the Bihar government. According to sources, while cracks were spotted on the portion that fell, the contractor overseeing the project blamed a sudden discharge of water from Nepal due to heavy rain. The contractor in the case, Amarnath Jha of Darbhanga, has been issued notice.

Kishanganj: On 25 June, a 70-metre long and 12-metre-wide bridge over Mariya river in Kishanganj fell. According to district officials, those responsible for bridge maintenance have already been served notice. The bridge was constructed at cost of Rs 25 lakh in 2011 to link Dighalbank and Bahadurganj blocks. Although some local residents had alerted the rural development department about the cracks in the bridge, no remedial action was taken.

According to Kishanganj Shravan Kumar Sahani, an assistant engineer in the Rural Works Department, a private contractor from Kishanganj who built the bridge has been served notice.

East Champaran: On 23 June, a portion of a bridge that was being built between Amwa and Chainpur railway stations in Ghorasahan block, East Champaran, gave way. The 17.95 metre bridge, which had opened to the public only in March this year, came under the state government’s rural development department and was constructed under the PM Gramin Sadak Yojana at the cost of Rs 1.59 crore.

The contractor that was responsible for the construction was Dhirendra Construction Private Limited, Motihari. According to sources, the company has been issued notice.

Siwan: A 20-feet bridge over a canal connecting Daraunda and Maharajganj blocks in Siwan. The bridge was constructed using MLA local area development funds in 1991. No action is initiated against an individual contractor since he’s no longer responsible for its maintenance.

Araria: On June 18, a newly-constructed 182-metre bridge in Araria’s Sikti block caved and fell into the Bakra river below. The bridge was constructed at cost of Rs 12 crore by the state government’s building construction department, which has initiated the process of blacklisting individual contractor Sirajur Rahman.