Bihar, India

A section of an under-construction, four-lane bridge in the Indian state of Bihar's Bhagalpur district on the Sultanganj-Aguwani Ganga River route collapsed and fell for the third time, on Saturday (Aug 17). The incident has since raised concerns over the structural stability of the bridge. 

Advertisment

The portion spanning from Sultanganj to Agwani, between pillars 9 and 10 of the bridge collapsed and submerged into the Ganga River. The Khagaria’s District Magistrate Amit Kumar Pandey confirmed no casualties in the incident. 

×

The SP Singla construction company has been given the contract to build the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge, which has sunk for the third time. A total of Rs. 1717 crore has been spent on the construction of the bridge, which has been in the works for nine years. 

Advertisment

“I must tell one thing, the entire structure of the under-construction bridge, which is faulty, is supposed to be dismantled by the contractor. The construction work has already stopped there. The contractor is dismantling the structure at the direction of the Patna High Court," Pandey said. 

The project aimed to connect the Bhagalpur and Khagaria districts. However, the bridge collapsed for the third time raising safety concerns. The incident has also reportedly prompted calls for a proper analysis of the construction process. 

The collapse took place amid the ongoing floods in the river Ganga which had caused a pause in the construction work. 

Advertisment

The construction work for the bridge began in 2014 and it has failed to meet its deadline eight times. The recurrent failures of the bridge have also raised calls for an investigation to find out the root cause of the collapses. 

Following the collapse, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Jitan Ram Manjhi said, "An investigation should be conducted to identify where the lapses occurred that have led to not just one, but several bridge collapses. Those responsible must be held accountable. Why are so many bridges collapsing this year? Could there be a political conspiracy behind it?"

This bridge was envisioned as a major infrastructural project by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar but has repeatedly collapsed and been under construction for a long time.

The portions of the bridge collapsed twice in 2022. The first incident that year occurred in November followed by the second collapse in December. 

(With inputs from agencies)