The under-construction Sultanganj-Aguwani Ghat bridge over river Ganga in Bihar’s Bhagalpur, which collapsed twice in 2022 and then 2023, collapsed again for the third time in two years on 17 August. However, now the Bihar State Bridge Corporation Limited has issued a clarification saying that no new construction of the bridge collapsed, and it was the damaged part which was to be demolished.
After media reports claiming that the bridge has collapsed for the third time in 2 years, raising questions on the construction quality of the important bridge project, the Bihar State Bridge Construction Corporation Ltd issued a press release with some clarifications.
The press release states that the bridge was first damaged on 30 April 2022, and another part was damaged on 4 June 2023. After the second collapse, the construction of the bridge was stopped. During the investigation, it was found that the design of the bridge was faulty, states the corporation. As a result, an order was issued to remove all parts of the bridge built using the faulty design.
Therefore, the faulty portions of the bridge were being demolished, and a portion of the same collapsed after the water level increased in the Ganga River. The collapsed portion was a part of the previously damaged part, and not newly built, the corporation clarified in the statement. They added that no new construction has taken place after last year’s incident.
Notably, last year the Patna High Court directed SP Singla Construction Company, which was tasked with building the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge on the river Ganga, to rebuild the bridge. Moreover, the court has directed that a steel bridge should be built between pillar number 9 to 13 instead of the cable-stayed bridge that was being built, and SP Singla will pay for the cost.
The damaged portion of the bridge collapsed around 7 PM on Saturday, however, no casualty has been reported so far.
The bridge, which is supposed to connect Sultanganj in Bhagalpur District to Aguwani Ghat in Khagaria District, has been under construction for nine years and has faced repeated setbacks since its construction began. A portion of the bridge collapsed on 4th June last year, and after that, the construction was stopped. Three pillars and the superstructure of girders joining them collapsed causing damage to more than 100 meters of the bridge at that time.
Before that in April 2022, a part of this bridge succumbed to the impact of storm and rains that lashed the area. A part of this bridge caved in near Sultanganj on 30th April 2022. Around 36 spans of the superstructure suspended from pillar number 5 had collapsed due to a storm.
SP Singla Construction Company was tasked with building the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge on the river Ganga. Already, hundreds of crores have been sunk into constructing the bridge, which has collapsed thrice now. An investigation is underway to determine the exact causes of the collapses and to ensure that corrective measures are implemented.
In November 2022, a team of two experts from Canada visited Bihar to assess the reasons behind the bridge collapse that took place in April 2022. This team studied to find out how this bridge succumbed to thunderstorms and fast winds. However, its findings were not made public.
