published by, Pragati Pal
Last Update: June 05, 2023, 15:24 IST
An under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj Ganga bridge collapsed in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district on Sunday. (Photo/PTI)
The saffron party criticized the RJD leader for his remark that “multiple structural defects” of the bridge have been pointed out by experts
The Bihar BJP on Monday alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav was “hiding the truth” over the collapse of an under-construction bridge in the state.
The saffron party criticized the RJD leader for his remark that “multiple structural defects” of the bridge have been pointed out by experts.
The bridge over the river Ganga was to connect Khagaria district with Bhagalpur.
Reacting to Yadav’s remarks, senior BJP leader and former state road construction department minister Nitin Nabin told PTI, “I must say the deputy chief minister is hiding the truth…he is not disclosing facts.” Are.
“When the experts who inspected the bridge had already informed the government that there were serious structural defects, why did the government allow the construction work to continue? The department should have stopped it immediately.”
Nabin also claimed that even after the matter was raised in the state assembly during the budget session in March this year, the deputy CM “did not bother to inform the House about the status of the construction work”.
“He (Yadav) never said that the construction work has been stopped. Why didn’t the department take action against the guilty officials or the contractor engaged in the construction of the bridge after getting the opinion of the experts last year? The state government is trying to save the accused. This grand alliance government is least concerned about the development of Bihar… neither the chief minister nor the deputy chief minister has time for the state,” the BJP leader said.
The 3.16-km bridge, being built since 2014, broke down twice in 14 months – first in April 2022 towards Sultanganj in Bhagalpur and second time towards Khagaria on Sunday evening. Images of the bridge collapse in Khagaria prompted Yadav to hold a press conference on Sunday evening.
Significantly, on April 30 last year, a part of this bridge had collapsed. Next, we approached IIT-Roorkee, which is respected for its expertise in construction matters, to conduct a study. The final report is yet to come, but the experts who studied the structure told us that it had serious flaws, Yadav told a press conference held hours after the bridge collapsed on Sunday.
Yadav had also revealed that “several structural defects” have been pointed out by experts and “we have already removed several parts which have been marked as particularly vulnerable. Today’s (Sunday’s) incident is our confirms worst fears”.
The incident attracted public outrage, prompting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to order an inquiry with directions to punish the culprits of the bridge collapse.
Last year, when the BJP was in power in the state, a portion of the bridge had collapsed in a storm.
“It was an incident that was widely talked about and I took it up strongly in my capacity as the then Leader of the Opposition. On coming to power, we ordered an inquiry and sought expert opinion Yadav said in an apparent retaliation to the BJP, now in the opposition, which had demanded the chief minister’s resignation over the issue.
At least 30 slabs placed on three pillars of the four-lane Sultanganj-Aguani Ghat bridge caved in and fell into the river on Sunday.
The district administration said that there was no report of any casualty in the incident.
The bridge is said to have involved an estimated cost of Rs 1,700 crore.
A company from Haryana has got the contract for the construction of the bridge, against which the BJP is now demanding action.
This will be the sixth bridge over river Ganga to connect north Bihar to its south, reducing travel time to Sultanganj, Khagaria, Saharsa, Madhepura and Supaul.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI,