The NDRF and SDRF are actively engaged in searching for a guard who went missing in the under-construction bridge collapse in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, officials said on Monday.
The bridge over the Ganga river that was supposed to link Khagaria district with Bhagalpur, collapsed on Saturday night. A video capturing the incident quickly spread across social media platforms. As of now, no casualties have been reported.
Following the bridge collapse, a guard employed by SP Singla Company is missing. Search efforts by SDRF and NDRF are ongoing to find him
said Chandan Kumar, Circle Officer, Parbatta, Bihar
Noting that that the man’s body is yet to be recovered, Kumar said that “nothing can be confirmed yet."
The man’s uncle had notified the authorities and his motorcycle is currently parked at the premise, he said. “He used to guard at pillar number 10. The NDRF and SDRF will continue the search till the body is found," Kumar said.
Built with an estimated cost of Rs 1,700 crore, a portion of the bridge collapsed on April 30 last year.
Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, “This is not the first time that the bridge collapsed. In the past too, I had asked for an investigation into why the incident happened. I have also asked for strict action to be taken against those responsible."
Kumar said the bridge is “not being constructed correctly, which is why it is collapsing again and again." “The department will look into it and action will be taken," he added.
The Bihar government has said that the portions of the bridge that collapsed were intentionally demolished in a premeditated manner, following expert advice due to inherent design flaws.
After the incident in Khagaria, accompanied by images, led to swift criticisms from the opposition, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Additional Chief Secretary of the Road Construction Department, Pratyay Amrit held a press conference explaining the incident.
It may be recalled that a portion of this bridge had collapsed on April 30 last year. We had, thereafter, approached IIT-Roorkee, which is esteemed for its expertise in construction matters, to conduct a study. It is yet to come up with a final report but experts who had studied the structure had informed us that there were serious defects," Yadav said.
Not taking any chances and awaiting the final report, the decision was made to proceed with the dismantling of certain sections of the bridge, Amrit said.
Upon the anticipated arrival of the final report, the state government will consider taking actions such as filing an FIR and blacklisting the contracted company, he added.
Amrit also mentioned that shortly after being informed about the incident, he was called upon by chief minister Nitish Kumar who “sought a detailed report on the mishap and issued strict instructions for strong action against those who might be held responsible".
The Deputy Chief Minister said that after the collapse of the bridge last year he had raised the matter to the Leader of the Opposition and ordered an inquiry by the new coalition government with RJD was formed led by Nitish Kumar last year.
“Last year, a portion of this bridge had given away in a thunderstorm. It was an incident which was widely talked about and I strongly raised it in my capacity as the then Leader of the Opposition. Upon coming to power, we ordered an inquiry and sought expert opinion," said Yadav
Yadav revealed that experts have identified “numerous structural defects" and stated, “we have already pulled down many portions which have been flagged as particularly vulnerable." The incident “confirms our worst apprehensions", he added.
BJP president Samrat Choudhary issued a statement, demanding the resignation of Nitish Kumar, with whom the saffron party severed ties in August last year.
BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, a former Bhagalpur MP, released a statement attributing the mishap to “corruption" and calling for a “high-level inquiry" into the incident. He further alleged, the incident “has put a question mark on construction works being undertaken across the state, many of which have been awarded to the same contractor".
While the bridge was originally scheduled to be finished by November 2019, Yadav said the government is dedicated to completing the project by rectifying all the existing issues.
“This bridge is of great importance for north Bihar where connectivity will greatly improve once it begins to function. We are committed to completing the project after setting right everything that has been wrong," he said.
