Bihar witnessed its 15th bridge collapse in four weeks on Tuesday evening. The latest incident involved a bridge over the Parman river at Amhara village in Araria district’s Forbesganj block, which was swept away by floodwaters, an official reported.
Araria District Magistrate Enayat Khan informed the media that the bridge, constructed by the Rural Works Department (RWD) in the fiscal year 2008-09, had been damaged during the 2017 floods and subsequently closed to road traffic.
Prabin Kumar, Executive Engineer (RWD) of Araria division, stated that the bridge was deemed unfit for use in 2017 but was repaired and renovated in the fiscal year 2020-21. “Our office has sent a checklist of this bridge to higher officials in the department,” he added.
Two weeks prior, the state government had suspended 15 engineers in connection with the series of bridge collapses. This action followed a probe panel report submitted to the Water Resources Department (WRD), which cited negligence and ineffective monitoring by the engineers as the primary reasons for the collapses, according to WRD Additional Chief Secretary Chaitanya Prasad.
