A bridge has been built on the Burhi Gandak river in Begusarai district at a cost of Rs 13 crore.
Patna:
Nearly two months after the Morbi bridge accident, a five-year-old bridge in Bihar broke into two and fell into the river on Sunday. No one was injured in the latest incident as the bridge was yet to be formally opened to the public due to the lack of an access road.
The bridge was built over the Budhi Gandak river in Begusarai district Rs 13 crore cost, “It was to be inaugurated soon but before that it collapsed,” said an official.
Residents claimed that the bridge was barely used as vehicles were not allowed on it.
The broken parts of the bridge submerged in the river are visible in the pictures.
The administration said that no one was on the bridge at the time of the incident.
The bridge was constructed under the Chief Minister’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) scheme.
An official said the collapse of the bridge would affect more than 20,000 people who have been cut off from major roads and towns. “It will affect students, farmers, people in need of medical care…” the official said.
Senior district official Roshan Kushwaha said the bridge was never formally opened, but people used it even after it was ready. In the last three days, the 206-metre-long bridge had developed cracks.
“The bridge was temporarily closed for use. We are assessing the reason behind the collapse of the bridge… Whether it was a technical fault or not, we are probing it,” he said.
In October, more than 130 people died when a century-old suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat, collapsed. The bridge crashed just days after it reopened to the public after seven months of repairs and renovations.
The accused in the case also include the owner of Oreva, a watchmaker who had won the Gujarat civic body’s contract to repair the bridge. Investigation revealed that the structure collapsed under the weight of about 500 people. The old cables had not been replaced and could not support the new and heavier floors.