An under-construction two-pillared bridge being built over the Ghoghari river by the Rural Works Department (RWD) collapsed in the Siddhwalia block of Bihar’s Gopalganj district, officials confirmed on Monday.
There was no injury in the incident that occurred on February 28, officials said.
Gopalganj’s District Magistrate (DM), Pawan Kumar Sinha, visited the spot on Monday, ordered strict departmental action, including termination of service of the concerned Assistant Engineer (AE) and Junior Engineer (JE) of the Rural Works department (RWD).
“It’s complete negligence on the part of the AE and JE. The bars and iron pipes used for shuttering were rusted and unable to withstand the load of the concrete,” the District Magistrate told HT over the phone from Gopalganj.
Giving further information, the DM said the casting of a portion of the two-pillared bridge, being constructed at a cost of ₹2.87 crore, at Gangwa village on Siddhwalia- Bisunpura road, was completed on February 27 and 28. Work on the other part started on February 28 before it collapsed on March 1. “During the investigation by the chief engineer and technical experts, it came to light that the contractor, AE and JE executing the project failed to adhere to prescribed quality management protocols,” said the district magistrate.
Preliminary investigation shows that none of the three engineers — AE, JE, and executive engineer— visited the site in the last seven days or so, the DM added.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, he said.
The DM has also ordered black-listing of the contractor who is constructing the small bridge.
The 29 meter-long bridge being constructed under National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABAR) scheme of Bihar government to improve connectivity among Barauli, Siddhwalia and Baikunthpur block of Gopalganj district. “An old existing bridge had become dilapidated and this the need for the same arose. The construction of the under-construction bridge was to be completed by March 6 this year,” said a person familiar with the matter.
Bihar had witnessed collapse of a dozen bridges, including big and small, in different districts of the state in 2024.
