Bihar suspends 16 engineers over collapse of 10 bridges; what's causing it?

Sharing this news with reporters, Bihar’s additional chief secretary of the Water Resources Department (WRD) Chaitanya Prasad pointed out that the state government is “serious” about the issue. Further, he said the contractors responsible for building the bridges will be traced and held to account.

Survey ordered

The suspension comes a day after a bridge again fell in Saran. This was the third bridge that was collapsing within 24 hours in Saran.

As many as 10 bridges have collapsed in Kishanganj, Araria, East Champaran, Madhubani, Siwan and Saran since June 18.

These multiple incidents prompted Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to ask for an inspection report of all the under-construction and old bridges in the state within two weeks. In fact, deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary told reporters that the CM has instructed officials to conduct a survey of all old bridges and identify those that require immediate repairs.

Political storm

Meanwhile, a political storm has broken out in the state as to who is to be held accountable for the collapse of the bridges.

Building construction minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary blamed then deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav for not putting in place an effective bridge maintenance policy when he held the post as the state’s road construction and building construction minister.

"The RJD leader (Tejashwi Yadav) must remember that he held the portfolio for more than 15 months during the previous mahagathbandhan government. What was he doing then? The previous RJD-led Bihar government and he should be held responsible for this mess," Choudhary said.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav responded to this remark saying that it is a case of a “pot calling the kettle black”.

In a post on X, Yadav alleged 12 bridges have collapsed in Bihar since June 18. He questioned the silence of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar over these incidents in Bihar.

“What happened to the claims of good governance and a corruption-free government?" Yadav asked. "These incidents show how corruption is rampant in every department of the state government," he alleged.

Bridge maintenance policy

The Bihar road construction department, which has prepared a bridge maintenance policy has asked the rural works department to finalise its plan at the earliest.

While some attribute the bridge collapses to heavy rainfall, some reports quoting experts argue that usage of sub-standard materials, failure to follow design protocols, poor quality control, and inadequate supervision could also be the other reasons. 

Some officials have suggested that the root cause may be linked to unscientific river dredging and desilting, which is being done to prepare for the monsoon, can also be weakening the structures. The removal of mud and silt around the bridge pillars may have destabilized their foundations, said officials.

Chaitanya Prasad also said, "Preliminary reports from Siwan and Saran suggest that the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) for maintenance of the small bridges and desiltation work of the canal were not followed by the government engineers in both districts. The recent desiltation drives conducted in canals in Siwan and Saran by contractors also weakened the foundation of the structures that collapsed."