Patna: A section of the superstructure of the under-construction Sultanganj-Aguwani Ghat bridge—which has been in the making for at least nine years— collapsed and fell into river Ganga in Bihar on Saturday. The visuals of the collapse went viral on social media. According to the reports, the bridge has collapsed at least thrice.
Bhagalpur, Bihar: Agwanani Bridge connecting Bhagalpur and Khagaria collapsed again. Despite being under construction for nearly 11 years with an estimated cost of ₹1,710 crore, the bridge has collapsed three times pic.twitter.com/D54H6loNmG
— IANS (@ians_india) August 17, 2024
However, no injuries were reported so far. But, incidents of repeated collapse of various sections of the bridge raise questions on the quality of construction and alignment of the project.
The construction company responsible for the project, SK Singla Construction Private Limited, has not yet provided any clarification about the collapse, claimed an NDTV report.
Why is this project significant?
This bridge is envisioned as a key infrastructure project by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It would connect Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district with Aguani Ghat in Khagaria district and make travel from Bhagalpur to Jharkhand via Khagaria easier. It was also expected to end traffic woes on the Vikramshila Bridge.
Previous collapse incidents
Earlier, on June 4, some other portion of the bridge had collapsed between pillar numbers 10 and 12 on the Khagaria side. Then, the state government had penalised the firm and mandated that the bridge be reconstructed at the company’s expense.
Another section of the bridge on the Bhagalpur side collapsed on June 30 in 2022. The superstructure between pillar numbers 5 and 6 fell into the river at that time. According to experts, misalignment issues could be a cause for these mishaps.
₹ 1,710 crore to the project
The foundation stone for the 3.16 km bridge was laid on February 23, 2014. The construction began on March 9, 2015. According to reports, the Bihar government allocated ₹ 1,710 crore to the project.
The Bihar government’s road construction department has managed to build a 16 km approach road from the Khagaria side and a 4 km approach road from the Bhagalpur side, but the main structure of the bridge remains unfinished, reported the NDTV.
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