'Will Nitish, Tejashwi resign?': BJP slams Bihar govt after under-construction bridge collapses in Bhagalpur

An under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihar's Bhagalpur on Sunday. The moment when the bridge collapsed was caught on video by locals. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. The Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge, which was being constructed in Bihar's Khagaria at a cost of Rs 1,717 crore, was to be completed by 2020. The bridge was to connect Khagaria with Bhagalpur.

Reacting to the development, Sultanganj JDU MLA Lalit Narayan Mandal said that the government was expecting the inauguration of the bridge would happen by November-December later this year. "But the way it collapsed is unfortunate. A probe must happen into the incident, there's some fault."

However, BJP's IT Cell head Amit Malviya said slammed the Bihar government and asked whether Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav will resign. In a tweet, he said: "Today, the bridge being built on the river Ganga between Sultanganj and Khagaria of Bhagalpur in Bihar collapsed. In 2015, Nitish Kumar inaugurated this bridge, which was to be completed by 2020."

He said this bridge had fallen for the second time. "Will Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav resign immediately taking cognizance of this incident? By doing this, both the uncle and nephew can set an example in front of the country," the BJP leader said.

Bihar BJP, too, said the bridge collapse was an example of Nitish Kumar's corrupt government. "Will the corrupt uncle-nephew duo resign?"

Bihar BJP chief Samrat Choudhary said that the bridge was collapsing, but Nitish Kumar's government was roaming the country. "Today, Nitish Kumar's corrupt government is fully involved in corruption. If there is even a little bit of morality left, then it should resign immediately," he said in a video message.

Meanwhile, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe and asked to identify those responsible for the collapse of the bridge.

Netizens have slammed the chief minister for the collapse of the bridge. Sanjib, a Twitter user, said crores have gone down the drain but no opposition leader was blaming the chief minister or his deputy. "This is Oppn unity," he said.

Ranjan Gupta, a Twitter user, said the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihar collapsed into the Ganga a few hours ago. The bridge, being made at a cost ₹1710 crores, was to connect Khagaria and Bhagalpur districts. "Nitish Kumar should concentrate on his own state!!"

According to reports, at least a 3ft portion of the bridge collapsed into the river Ganga below. The bridge had also suffered some damage back in April due to a storm. The middle portion of the bridge was being constructed on the river Ganges between Khagaria, Aguwani, and Sultanganj. A portion of the bridge had collapsed two years ago as well.