Two blocks portion of a bridge that was built across the Burhi Gandak River in Sahebpur Kamal of Bihar’s Begusarai district collapsed and fell into the river, but no casualty was reported.
The bridge was constructed in 2022 but was never inaugurated due to the lack of an access road.
The bridge was built at a cost of over Rs 13 crore and was yet to be inaugurated. Nobody was on the bridge at the time of the incident, said the administration on Monday.
As per information, the 206-metre-long bridge had developed cracks. The front part of the bridge between pillar no 2 and 3 collapsed on Sunday.
But, before the concerned officials could take corrective measure to mend the cracks, the entire stretch between the two pillars measuring about 25 metres collapsed in the river on Sunday.
Locals said that though the bridge construction work started five years ago but even after completion heavy vehicles were never allowed to ply on it.
A local contractor had constructed the bridge and the villagers have alleged that substandard material used in the construction of the bridge resulted in the collapse of the structure. “The bridge was constructed to facilitate easy access to people in Bishnupur-Ahok areas of Sahebpur Kamal block to NH-31,” they said
Rahua panchayat mukhiya Subodh Kumar on Sunday said that after cracks were spotted between two of its pillars on Thursday, a team of local officials visited the site and put up barricades on both sides of the bridge to prevent people from travelling through it.
Subodh adding that the collapse of the bridge would badly hit access to health and educational services to about 20,000 villagers in the region.
A special technical team also visited the site and inspected the bridge on Saturday after Balia SDO Rohit Kumar sent an SOS in this regard, said locals
The bridge was constructed under the Chief Minister National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) scheme.
In October, in Gujarat a total of 134 persons lost their lives after a century-old suspension bridge fell into the Machchhu River of Morbi
