Fourth bridge collapse in Bihar in just over a week, no casualties

Representational Image. File Pic

In the fourth accident of its kind in just over a week, a bridge caved in at Kishanganj district in Bihar on Thursday, reported PTI citing officials.

No one was injured in the incident, he said.

"The bridge was built in 2011 over Madiya, a small tributary that connects the Kankai river to the Mahananda. Heavy rainfall in the catchment area in Nepal has led to a sudden rise in the water level. One of the pillars of the bridge could not withstand the strong current," District Magistrate Tushar Singla said.

The bridge, situated in Bahadurganj block, was 70 meters long and 12 meters wide, he said reported PTI.

Both ends of the bridge have been barricaded to prevent any type of movement while repair work was on, he added.

As per the PTI report, three incidents of bridge collapse were reported last week from Araria, Siwan and Araria districts.

Mumbai: Collapsed Bihar bridge contractor is building GMLR

SP Singla Constructions, which was constructing the now-collapsed bridge in Bihar, is currently building three bridges as part of the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR). While a Congress leader has demanded the contractor's removal, the BMC is confident that there won't be any error because civic officials are constantly monitoring the work. SP Singla Construction Pvt. Ltd. was, on December 20, 2021, awarded a contract of R666.06 crore to build the flyovers.

SP Singla Constructions Pvt. Ltd., which was awarded the contract on December 20, 2021, is building a six-tier flyover at Ratnagiri Hotel chowk in Goregaon, circular elevated way at Khindipada in Mulund and another six-tier flyover at Hedgewar chowk in Mulund, according to officials.

Congress leader Ravi Raja, the former corporator and former leader of opposition in the BMC, has sent a letter to civic commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, seeking to halt the work by the contractor.

In his letter, Raja mentioned, "The same company was constructing the bridge over the river Ganga in Bhagalpur district of Bihar which collapsed on Sunday. The bridge collapsed due to a design and technical error. Even earlier, the bridge had collapsed while under construction. It has been found that the construction of the company is of very poor quality."

Stating that the contractor has already started the work on GMLR bridges, Raja cautioned that the Bihar incident could repeat. "Therefore, the municipal corporation should not give any work to this company and the work should be reviewed," he said, while demanding that the firm be blacklisted.

BMC Additional Commissioner P Velrasu, however, said, "Both [Bihar and GMLR] works cannot be compared, as they are technically different. The GMLR work is being monitored by the BMC's Bridges Department as well as a third party, PMC Technogem. I have also instructed the Bridges Department's chief engineer to review the work this week again."

According to the contract, SP Singla is also responsible for maintenance of the bridges for five years after completion. The contract also included reconstruction of a two-lane subway at Tansa pipeline.

The company is also involved in the work of structuring and construction of a 592-metre-long permanent cable-stayed bridge at Basohli on river Ravi in Jammu and Kashmir.