By Avijit Biswas
Bhagalpur: A slab between pillars nine and ten of the under-construction four-lane mega bridge over the Ganga River in Bihar, connecting Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district of and Agwani Ghat in Khagaria district, collapsed and fell into the river today. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the incident.
This marks the third time a portion of the bridge has collapsed since construction began in February 2014. Although the official cause of the latest collapse has not been disclosed, it is widely speculated that the swollen river and increased water pressure contributed to the failure of the structure.
According to information from the site, no new construction work was underway at the time of the collapse. Following the previous collapse of a section of the bridge’s superstructure in June last year, the construction company was instructed to dismantle sections where design and construction faults were identified.
It’s worth noting that the superstructure over pillars ten, eleven, and twelve collapsed last year. Similarly, in April 2022, a portion of the bridge’s superstructure gave way during a rainstorm.
Despite resuming construction and completing a significant portion of the bridge and its approach road after the 2022 collapse, the repeated structural failures have raised serious questions about the quality of the construction work. The bridge, often considered jinxed by locals, is now facing renewed scrutiny following today’s incident.
The 3.160-kilometer-long bridge is projected to cost Rs 1710.77 crore according to initial estimates. Once completed, the bridge will link NH-80 and NH-31, significantly reducing the traffic load on existing bridges over the Ganga in the state, particularly the Vikramshila Setu.
The author is a Bhagalpur based journalist
