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India: Guard missing after under-construction bridge collapses like a 'house of cards' in Bihar

Patna, IndiaEdited By: PrishaUpdated: Jun 05, 2023, 04:59 PM IST
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Snapshot of the video of bridge collapse. Photograph:(Twitter)

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The government of Bihar ordered an inquiry into the incident on Sunday and said that strict action will be taken against the erring officials

The guard, who was reportedly stationed near the bridge that collapsed within seconds like a 'house of cards' in the Indian state of Bihar, has gone missing and efforts are being made to trace him. 

A war of words has started between the state government and the opposition BJP over the sudden collapse of the under-construction bridge in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar. Hours after the collapse of the four-lane bridge on Sunday, the government of Bihar told media officials that there were "serious defects" in the structure and that someone had deliberately destroyed its portions in a planned fashion.

"It may be recalled that a portion of this bridge had collapsed on April 30 last year. We had, thereafter, approached IIT-Roorkee, which is esteemed for its expertise in construction matters, to conduct a study. It is yet to come up with a final report but experts who had studied the structure had informed us that there were serious defects," said state's Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, during the press conference.

Speaking at the press conference, a government official stated that they did not want to take any chance and hence, went forward with pulling down parts of the bridge.

The bridge was reported to have cost approximately ₹1,700 crore ($212 million). 

Strict action against erring officials

An inquiry was ordered by the government into the incident that occurred on Sunday and stated that strict action needs to be taken against the erring officials.

Yadav said that "many structural defects have been pointed out by experts and we have already pulled down many portions which have been flagged as particularly vulnerable. Today's incident confirms our worst apprehensions".

He added that the guard who was working near the bridge has been missing, and rescue officials are making efforts to trace him.

"After the bridge collapse, a person working as a guard with SP Singla Company is said to be missing. His body has not been recovered yet. Search by SDRF and NDRF teams is underway to trace him," stated Chandan Kumar, Circle Officer, Parbatta, Bihar.

WATCH | Bhagalpur Bridge Collapse: CM Nitish Kumar acknowledges fault in design of the bridge | India

Meanwhile, BJP state president Samrat Choudhary has demanded the resignation of the state's Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had cut ties with the party in August last year.

Fellow BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, who was a former MP of Bhagalpur, also issued a statement and blamed the mishap on "corruption" and demanded a "high-level inquiry" into the incident.

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