Bihar: Bridge Costing Rs 12 Crore on Bakra River Collapses Before Inauguration

Strong currents in the Bakra river swept away a portion of the bridge which was built at a cost of Rs 12 crore and ready for inauguration at Bihar's Araria. Sikti assembly MLA Vijay Kumar Mandal said that action should be taken against the officials of the Rural Works Department and the contractor concerned.

Araria : Due to heavy rains in Nepal, the Bakra river is in spate in the stretch covering Sikti block. As a result of this, a portion of bridge ready for inauguration at Araria in Bihar was washed away on Tuesday. Actually, at this spot, a bridge was built on the Bakra river five years ago. As soon as the bridge was completed, the Bakra river changed its course. After that, this new bridge was being constructed.

The sudden strong current in the river swept away the bridge. It is intended to connect Sikti and Kursakanta blocks. It is sad that the government had spent Rs 12 crore on this bridge but everything went down the drain.

In the strong currents, three pillars of the bridge built on Pardia Ghat were badly damaged. The girder built on it has also been submerged in the river. There is a lot of anger among the local people regarding this matter. They blame poor construction for the bridge collapse.

The bridge built by spending several crores of rupees collapsed before the inauguration. One after the other, bridges are collapsing in Bihar whether there is a storm or not. The concerned authorities are yet to give the reason for the collapse of the bridge.

Sikti assembly MLA Vijay Kumar Mandal said, "The bridge was being constructed by the Rural Works Department. We had hoped that the bridge would be built well and strong. But the bridge getting washed away at the beginning of the rains exposes the negligence and corruption of the department's contractor. Strict action should be taken against the contractor involved in this work and action should also be taken against the officials of the Rural Works Department."