Bihar: 16 engineers suspended after 10 bridges collapse within fortnight
The water resources department in Bihar on Friday suspended 16 engineers following the collapse of ten bridges across the state within a 15-day span, as per an official statement. On Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ordered an immediate survey of all old bridges in the state following a series of bridge collapses. The state's Development Secretary, Chaitanya Prasad, said that the government is taking this issue seriously and will hold accountable those contractors responsible for building these bridges.
Engineers didn't exercise care: Official
While speaking to media, Development Secretary Prasad said, "It appears that engineers didn't exercise proper care, and contractors were not diligent either." To recall, the tenth bridge collapse in the state was reported from Saran district on Thursday, marking the third bridge to fall in Saran within 24 hours. The other collapsed bridges were located in Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran, and Kishanganj districts.
Bihar government orders reconstruction of new bridges
The Bihar government has also ordered the reconstruction of the new bridges. The cost of the construction will be imposed on the contractors found guilty. The decision was taken after the flying squads submitted their reports, pointing out that engineers were negligent and monitoring was ineffective as the main reasons behind the collapse of the bridges.
Tejashwi blames corruption for the collapses
Separately, reacting to the bridge collapses, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday alleged corruption in the state government. In a post on X, Yadav criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kumar for their silence on the issue. "It is a strange situation for the double engine government of six parties that even after the collapse of bridges worth 10,000 of crores each day, they are not able to find any excuse to blame the opposition," he added.
