Over the past 16 days, a total of ten bridges have collpased in Bihar, including Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran, and Kishanganj.
In June, a series of bridge collapses occurred in five districts across Bihar.The affected districts were Araria, Siwan, East Champaran, Kishanganj, and Madhubani.
The first incident took place on June 18, when “a newly constructed bridge over the Bakra River in Pararia village of Bihar’s Araria district collapsed.”
Just a few days later, on June 22, an older bridge spanning the Gandak River in Siwan, estimated to be between 40 and 45 years old, also gave way. The following day, on June 23, a bridge still under construction in East Champaran, with a projected cost of approximately Rs 1.5 crore, collapsed as well. Local residents attributed the East Champaran bridge failure to the use of inferior quality materials in its construction.
Political slugfest over collapsing bridges
The collapsing bridges in the state led to an intense slugfight between the Nitish Kumar government and the opposition. Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi defended Nitish , blaming unusually heavy monsoon rains for the incidents. Manjhi stated that Kumar had ordered action against negligence. Over the past 15 days, ten bridges have collapsed, raising serious concerns about infrastructure safety.
Meanwhile, former deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack on Kumar and the JD(U), accusing them of widespread corruption and crime. Yadav highlighted the bridge collapses as proof of administrative failure, criticizing the “double engine” government for being involved in both corruption and crime.
“Since the day Nitish Kumar became the CM, if we leave aside only 18 months of my tenure, then the entire time the Rural Works Department has been with the JD(U). This ministry and Bihar are constantly witnessing corruption,” Yadav said