Bihar bridge collapse: Another one goes down in Saran, 12th incident in 17 days

At least 12 bridges have collapsed across Bihar in the past 17 days, with the latest incident occurring on Thursday in Saran district.

This marks the third bridge collapse in Saran within 24 hours, according to District Magistrate Aman Samir. No casualties were reported in the collapse of the 15-year-old bridge over the Gandaki River, which connected villages in Saran to neighbouring Siwan district. The cause is still under investigation, but officials mentioned recent desilting work in the area.

This incident comes a day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered a survey of all old bridges in the state to identify those needing urgent repairs. The Chief Minister has called for improved bridge maintenance policies from both the road construction and rural works departments.

Apart from Saran, bridge collapses were reported in Siwan, Chhapra, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts in over a fortnight.

In Deoria, a pillar of a 40-year-old bridge over the Gandak River sank, causing the bridge to collapse. Another bridge, a 5-year-old structure, came down in the Tewta area. The third bridge in Siwan district collapsed in Dhamhi.

Chhapra saw two bridge collapses: the first one in the Janata Bazar area over the Gandak River and the second one, a 100-year-old bridge located a kilometer away from the first site.

In Araria, a bridge over the Bakra River, built at a cost of Rs 12 crores, collapsed on June 18.

An under-construction bridge came crashing down on June 23 in East Champaran, which was being built at a cost of Rs 1.5 crores. Locals alleged that substandard materials were used for the construction.

In Kishanganj and Madhubani, a bridge over a tributary connecting the Kankai and Mahananda rivers in Kishanganj and another bridge in Madhubani both collapsed on June 27.

Another bridge in Kishanganj collapsed on June 30.

On July 2, a small bridge over the Gandaki River in Deoria of Siwan and another small bridge reportedly met the same fate in Teghra block of the district. With today’s collapse, the totoal number in the past 17 days now stands at 12.

While some cite heavy rain as a possible contributing factor to the series of bridge failures in the state, opposition parties targeted the government alleging corruption and lack of action.

Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions for the Bihar government to undertake a structural audit and set up an expert committee to identify bridges that can be either strengthened or demolished based on the findings.

The petition, which raised concerns about the safety and longevity of the bridges in the state, sought directions to set up a high-level expert panel and implement real-time monitoring of the bridges according to the parameters of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.