BJP reacts sharply to Bihar bridge collapse: ‘Dream project, Nitish Babu is busy…’
Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe into the bridge collapse in Bihar's Bhagalpur and askedto identify those responsible for the incident.
In a major embarrassment for chief minister Nitish Kumar, an under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge on river Ganga in Bihar's Bhagalpur collapsed on Sunday evening. The moment when the bridge collapsed was caught on video by locals. A similar incident of bridge collapse happened last year as well.
A portion of a bridge that was built across the Burhi Gandak River in Sahebpur Kamal of Bihar's Begusarai district collapsed and fell into the river, but no casualty was reported.
Nitish Kumar has ordered a probe into the bridge collapse incident and asked to identify those responsible for the incident.
However, the incident, not surprisingly, drew quick criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Nitish Kumar's old ally in the state.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla described it as "the bridge of corruption” and took a dig at the chief minister.
“Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihar’s Bhagalpur - dream project of CM Nitish Kumar collapses. This is the second time the bridge has collapsed. Imagine the level of corruption ! ₹1750 crores of tax payer money takes Jal Samadhi with the bridge. THE BRIDGE OF CORRUPTION COLLAPSES EVEN AS NITISH BABU IS BUSY ATTEMPTING TO BE A BRIDGE OF OPPOSITION UNITY. Wait & see how Pappu Media ignores this story or somehow blames PM Modi for it,” Poonwalla tweeted.
Another BJP spokesperson Priti Gandhi said Nitish Kumar should concentrate on his own state “instead of poking his nose in issues not concerning him”.
“Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bihar collapsed into the Ganga few hours ago. The bridge, being made at a cost ₹1710 crores, was to connect Khagaria & Bhagalpur districts,” she tweeted.
BJP IT-cell head Amit Malviya asked if Nitish Kumar and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav will resign for the incident.
“Today, the bridge being built on the river Ganga between Sultanganj and Khagaria of Bhagalpur in Bihar collapsed. In 2015, Nitish Kumar inaugurated this bridge, which was to be completed by 2020. This bridge has fallen for the second time. Will Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav resign immediately taking cognizance of this incident? By doing this, both the uncle and nephew can set an example in front of the country,” Malviya tweeted in Hindi.
Meanwhile, JDU MLA from Sultanganj Lalit Narayan Mandal said, “We were expecting that the inauguration of the bridge would happen by November-December later this year. But the way it collapsed is unfortunate. A probe must happen into the incident, there's some fault.”
Live Hindustan reported that officials are analysing the extent of damage caused to the bridge. Bhagalpur SDO Dhananjay Kumar said, “We have received information about the collapse of pillar and segment. The incident pertains to Parvatta. We have spoken to the engineers involved in the construction of the bridge. As of now, there is no report of loss of life and property.”
Onlookers were in shock
Reports said at least two spans of the bridge, being built in a hybrid structure between the classic cable-stayed and cantilever-girder types, sank in the water, leaving the onlookers in shock. This is the second time that the bridge constructed for the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited (BRPNNL) by SP Signla construction limited caved in owing to “structural mishandling and design fault”.
Foundation was laid by Nitish Kumar in 2014
Officials said the bridge, the foundation of which was laid by Nitish Kumar in 2014, was scheduled to be inaugurated by the year-end after the deferred deadlines.
Additional chief secretary, road construction, Pratyay Amrit and BRPNNL managing director Niraj Saxena could not be reached for their comments.
(With inputs from Subhash Pathak in Patna)
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