India's Bihar orders investigation after 2nd collapse of under-construction bridge

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) – India’s eastern state of Bihar has ordered an investigation after an under-construction suspension bridge over the Ganges River in Bhagalpur district collapsed a second time on Sunday.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said Monday that strict action will be taken against those found responsible for the collapse of the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge. A section of the same bridge collapsed during a thunderstorm on April 29, 2022.

The videos of the bridge’s latest collapse have gone viral showing two parts of the bridge collapsing one after the other.

“I have instructed officials to take strict action. It is not being constructed properly, and that is why it collapsed twice. The department has already initiated a thorough probe into the incident,” Kumar told reporters.

The district administration said that no casualties were reported from the collapse.

The construction of 3.16-kilometer (1.96-mile) bridge has been going on since 2014 at a cost of 17.17 billion rupees ($208 million).

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, who is also in charge of the road construction department, said Sunday that the government was planning to demolish the bridge because of structural flaws.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state has attacked the ruling party over the collapse of the bridge.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla described it as "the bridge of corruption.”

Senior BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain also blamed the collapse on “corruption” and demanded an inquiry into the incident.

​​​​​​​Bihar has a history of bridge collapses. At least seven bridges have collapsed in the state in the last year, according to media reports.