Bihar: Bridge worth Rs 1,710 cr collapses due to thunderstorm

The bridge is one of the most ambitious projects of the Bihar government. The foundation stone of this bridge was laid by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at Parbatta in Khagaria district on February 23, 2014.

Bhagalpur: A portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed due to a thunderstorm in Sultanganj in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. As per reports, the bridge, worth Rs 1,710 crore, collapsed due to the strong winds.

There was no report of any casualty or property damage in the accident. However, the manner in which part of the bridge collapsed has raised questions about the quality of material used in the construction. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar ordered an investigation into the bridge collapse. "It seems that material of degraded quality was used for construction," said Sultanganj MLA Lalit Narayan Mandal.

The bridge is one of the most ambitious projects of the Bihar government. The foundation stone of this bridge was laid by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at Parbatta in Khagaria district on February 23, 2014. Around 16 km long approach road from Khagaria side and 4 km from Sultanganj side is under construction. With its construction, North Bihar will be directly connected to Jharkhand via Mirza Chowk.

On the other hand, during the 'Shravan' season between July and August, Kanwariyas will have to travel just 30 km instead of 90 km to reach Bhagalpur from Khagaria.