Two pillars of a bridge floated in the Ganga River in Katihar.
Two pillars of a bridge floated in the Ganga River in Katihar.
Patna, August 8: Two pillars of a bridge in the Ganga River floated in Bihar’s Katihar district, an official said.
The incident occurred at Ward Number 12 of Bakiya Sukhay Panchayat under Barari block in the district.
Anwar Jamal, the chief engineer of the flood control department, confirms that two pillars have floated in Ganga River.
“Due to soil erosion in the Ganga River, the bridge was built under the rural work department floated in Barari block. We will investigate the matter and will take action against the contractor and officials,” Jamal said.
The bridge was constructed with the aim to connect Bakiya Sukhay Panchayat with Barari block directly. It was a long-standing demand of the villagers. This Panchayat did not have a direct road to connect the district headquarters Katihar. The geographic location of the Panchayat was such that villagers had to travel through neighboring Bhagalpur to reach Katihar district headquarters.
Subodh Mandal, the husband of Mukhiya (Village Head) of Bakiya Sukhay Panchayat said, “For the last couple of days, we are witnessing heavy rain in the region. This has led to strong flow of water in the Ganga River. This intense flow contributed to the destruction of two pillars of the partially built bridge.
Mandal lamented that this incident would likely result in a significant delay in the completion of the bridge, prolonging the villagers’ wait for the much-needed direct connection to Katihar.
In another incident, the rural work department partially constructed a bridge in the middle of an agricultural field in Bihar’s Araria district.
Also Read: An under-construction bridge collapsed in Araria
The partially built bridge is located at Parmanand Panchayat under the jurisdiction of Palasi block. This bridge has no approach road from either side.
The villagers said that the bridge was built on the Bakra River with a cost of Rs 3 crore but it has no approach road. The villagers are facing challenges to climb on the bridge to cross on the other side.
A similar bridge was found in Raniganj block a couple of days ago. That bridge was also built by the rural work department and it does not have any approach road.
EOM.