A culvert collapsed in Bhagalpur, the second in one week.

A culvert collapsed in Bhagalpur, the second in one week.

Patna October 3, 2024: A culvert in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district collapsed due to the heavy pressure of the Ganga River’s rising water on Thursday.

The incident occurred at Mustafapur Chaukhandi village in the Pirpaiti block.

As confirmed by Nagendra Nath Gupta, the district public relation officer, the culvert on the Pirpainti-Bhakharpur main road was already considered unsafe, and transportation over it had been prohibited by the district administration. Despite this, the intense current from the Ganga River caused the structure to sink.

The culvert sank into the river around noon due to the strong current of the Ganga River. It had been in poor condition, and transportation on it had already been banned by the district administration prior to the incident as a precautionary measure,” Gupta said.

This was the second such incident within a week in the Pirpaiti block. The flooding this year has been unusually severe, putting strain on embankments and other structures like bridges and culverts.

The collapse has disrupted access for several villages, including Bakharpur, Babupur, Mohanpur, and Govindpur, cutting them off from the block headquarters.

After the incident, officials from the water resource, disaster management and local police, arrived to assess the situation. The collapse has caused considerable panic and chaos in the affected areas.

The collapsed culvert at Mustafapur Chaukhandi village, which had been built three years ago by the Public Work Department (PWD), was an important link connecting Jharkhand with Pirpainti market via Chaukhandi, Bhakarpur and Babupur.

The structure’s collapse, however, marks the second such incident within the Pirpainti block in less than a week—following a similar culvert collapse in Bhakharpur village on September 27.

Also Read: A culvert collapsed in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar.

The flooding situation in Bihar remains critical with Ganga River flowing above the danger mark at multiple locations.

In Bhagalpur’s Kahalgaon, the river’s water level is currently 61 cm above the danger level.

The water level has also surpassed the danger mark by 20 and 48 c.m. respectively at Gandhi Ghat and Hathidah in Patna district, signaling widespread flood risk across the region.

This heightened flood situation has exacerbated infrastructure vulnerabilities, putting bridges and culverts under tremendous strain.

EOM.