Bihar Bridge Collapse: Independent Probe Into Cause Demanded

BIHAR: The collapse of an under-construction bridge in Bhagalpur, Bihar has sparked various responses. Pratyaya Amrit, the additional chief secretary for Bihar Road Construction Department, stated that the investigation will be completed soon and a new bridge will be built.

Pratyaya Amrit told the media, "We will try to complete the investigation at the earliest. We have served a show cause notice to SP Singla and Company as to why they should not be blacklisted. They have been given 15-day time to reply. For serious dereliction of duty, the Executive Engineer of Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam posted at Khagaria has been put under suspension and departmental proceedings have started. The Managing Director of Bihar Bridge Construction Corporation has also been showcased as to why was there a delay when the instructions were very clear to completely demolish pier 5. A new bridge will be constructed. We will try to prioritise it so that the work on this can start after monsoon."

Pratyaya Amrit further said, "When its pier no.5 collapsed on April 30, 2022, we deployed an IIT Roorkee team for its investigation. There were some defects in its structural audit. Taking a cue from that, we had asked IIT Roorkee to examine the entire design. We suspected the same defects to be there in the design. We were waiting for that report to come. Today, we got that report also. We will examine the report and what are the recommendations of IIT Roorkee."

A PIL was filed in the Patna High Court, seeking an independent inquiry into the bridge collapse. The petitioner, Manibhushan Pratap Sengar, called for an external investigation instead of a departmental inquiry and demanded action against the construction company involved. The PIL also highlighted the need to recover the significant financial losses incurred due to the collapse.

The incident has become a subject of political debate. Tej Pratap Yadav, a leader from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of deliberately causing the bridge collapse. In response, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad called for an audit of all ongoing bridge construction projects in Bihar. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered a probe into the collapse, instructing officials to identify those accountable for the substandard construction work.

"The bridge has been demolished by BJP. We are building the bridge and they are demolishing it," Tej Pratap Yadav told the media on Monday.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered a probe into the bridge collapse and instructed officials to identify those responsible. He emphasized the need for strict action against those accountable for the substandard construction work on the under-construction bridge over the River Ganga in Bhagalpur.

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