Separate portions of the same structure came crashing down into the Ganges river within a little more than a year
By Joydeep Sen Gupta, Asia Editor
A little over a year after a portion of a four-lane bridge under construction over the Ganges river in the eastern Indian state of Bihar came crashing down, another portion of the same structure collapsed on Sunday evening.
The collapsing bridge section was caught on a viral video, filmed by local residents and picked up by Indian media outlets.
The foundation stone of the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge, which connects Sultanganj and Khagaria districts, was unveiled by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in February 2014. Four superstructures with a total length of 192 meters between pillar number 9 and 13 sank into the river. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
CM Kumar has ordered an inquiry into the incident. He has warned of strict action against the officials responsible. “Yes, I have received the information that four-five pillars of the Aguwani-Sultanganj under-construction bridge collapsed. The administration is in touch with officials of the department concerned,” Bhagalpur District Magistrate Subrat Kumar Sen was quoted as saying by the Indian news agency, PTI.
The bridge is 3.6 kilometers long and is being built at an estimated cost of over 17 billion rupees (over $200 million). The construction work was expected to be completed by the end of this year, but the collapse will further delay its inauguration.
S.P. Singla Constructions, a private Indian company, is the contractor for the project. Initially, the construction work was to be completed by March 2019, but the deadlines were extended several times, prompting allegations of cost overruns because of the inordinate delays.
Last year, on April 30, 2022, 38 superstructures suspended from pier number 5 collapsed purportedly due to the impact of a storm and rains that lashed the area. The reasons cited for the collapse were mocked by India’s Federal Minister for Road, Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and a preliminary probe revealed that poor construction materials were the likely cause.
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