‘Demolished By…’: RJD Minister Tej Pratap Alleges BJP Behind Collapse of Bihar Bridge

Days after an under-construction bridge over the Ganga river collapsed in Bihar’s Bhagalpur, Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) leader and state Minister Tej Pratap Yadav alleged the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) demolished it.

“The bridge has been demolished by BJP. We are building the bridge and they are demolishing it,” said Yadav on the collapse of the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge.

The Rs 1,710 crore four-lane road bridge project connected Sultanganj in the Bhagalpur district and Aguwani Ghat in the Khagaria district. A Haryana-based company has got the contract for the construction of the bridge, against which the BJP is now seeking action.

Meanwhile, Bihar’s Nitish Kumar government on Monday served notice to construction company S.P. Singla Construction Pvt Ltd, while an Executive Engineer of the Road Construction Department has also been suspended.

Sources have said that the company has used low-grade materials during the construction and the pilings are also under a question mark.

According to a district administration official, irregularities and designer faults, on a massive scale, appeared during the design and construction of the bridge.

A team of experts from IIT Roorkee will also visit the site today and will submit their investigation report to the government. Officers from different departments are sent to the collapse site.

Earlier in the day, JD-U MLA from Parbatta in Khagaria, Sanjiv Kumar alleged that Additional Chief Secretary Pratyay Amrit is directly involved in the corruption.

In his reaction, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose ire against the company was palpable, said, “It was a painful experience for me when I learnt about the bridge collapse on Sunday. I immediately asked the officials to go to the spot and take action against the accused persons.”

He claimed the bridge was not constructed in the right manner which is the reason why it collapsed twice. The Deputy CM and officials of BRPNNL will look after it. I want to complete this bridge as soon as possible.”

“I thought about the bridge in 2012 and the construction started in 2015,” he added.

(With IANS Inputs)