Bihar sees 10th bridge collapse in 16 days, PIL filed in Supreme Court over multiple bridge collapse incidents

One more bridge collapsed in the Saran district of Bihar on July 4, in the 10th such incident reported in the state in just over a fortnight. The district witnessed two more bridge collapses in the past 24 hours, District Magistrate (DM) Aman Samir said. 

No casualty was reported after the structure, built 15 years ago by local authorities, collapsed this morning, he said. The bridge built over Gandaki river was situated in the Baneyapur block and used to connect several villages in Saran with Siwan. 

On Wednesday (July 3), the Saran district witnessed the collapse of two small bridges- one in Janta Bazar area and another in Lahladpur area. 

“A high-level probe has been ordered to find out the reason for the collapse of these small bridges in the district,” the DM said. 

According to locals, heavy rainfall for the last few days in the district might have contributed to the collapse of these small bridges. Altogether 10 bridges collapsed in Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts in the past 16 days. 

PIL in Supreme Court 

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed on July 4 in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Bihar government to undertake a structural audit and set up an expert committee to identify bridges that can be either strengthened or demolished based on the findings. 

The PIL, filed by advocate and petitioner Brajesh Singh, raised concerns about the safety and longevity of the bridges in the state that witnesses floods and heavy rains during monsoon. 

Besides setting up a high-level expert panel, it also sought real-time monitoring of the bridges as per the parameters of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. 

In the PIL, the petitioner said that it was a matter of grave concern that Bihar is the most flood-prone state in India. “Hence, such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large are at stake,” the plea said.  

In view of the bridge collapse incidents, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed the road construction and rural works departments to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those that require immediate repairs.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a strong criticism against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday, criticising their “silence” in the matter.

He further slammed PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar, and wrote, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are completely silent and speechless on these achievements. They are thinking how to convert this corruption into Jungle Raj?”