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Bihar-UP road connectivity snapped as 15ft-long stretch caves in
About 15ft -long stretch of Gautam Buddha Setu Marg, that connects the state to Uttar Pradesh, in West Champaran’s Bagaha subdivision collapsed late on Thursday night following heavy rainfall, affecting vehicular movement in different parts of the district , officials said on Friday
About 15ft -long stretch of Gautam Buddha Setu Marg, that connects the state to Uttar Pradesh, in West Champaran’s Bagaha subdivision collapsed late on Thursday night following heavy rainfall, affecting vehicular movement in different parts of the district , officials said on Friday.
Road construction department (RCD) division started repair work immediately, West Champaran district magistrate (DM) Kundan Kumar said, adding that efforts were on to restore transport services at the earliest.
According to officials, the collapsed part of the road sank deep into the earth near Nainaha Dhala, between Ratwal in Madhubani block of West Champaran. As a result, movement of vehicles has been disrupted on the stretch that integrates UP’s Kushinagar and four blocks of West Champaran--Piprasi, Madhubani, Bhitaha and Thakaraha-- with district headquarters.
“Heavy downpour and erosion appear to be the main reason behind the collapse,” Bagaha subdivisional magistrate (SDM) Shekhar Anand said.
Built at a cost of nearly ₹ 500 crore, a road and Gautam Buddha bridge (1,848m ) over Gandak river were necessitated to reduce distance between the aforementioned four blocks of West Champaran to Bettiah and boost rural economy. The cutting short of 95km of distance from Dhanaha, a block in Bagaha subdivision, to Bettiah after opening of this bridge in 2013 saved at least two-and-a-half hour travel time between the two destinations, largely inhabited by farmers. The bridge-cum-road was inaugurated by chief minister Nitish Kumar on November 26, 2013.
Following the collapse, a large number of the vehicles, including one carrying a wedding party, remained stranded for hours. “When villagers got to know about them, they made arrangements and facilitated their journey to the destination,” said a local Vinod Kumar.
Officials said the district administration has also identified as many as 51 locations in Bagaha subdivision alone, where hilly rivers have caused erosions, rain cuts in roads, embankments and other sites. “The concerned departments have started the repair work,” said the Bagaha SDM.
Meanwhile, vehicular movement were also affected on Sukana - Jigana road, Gamahariya - Chakaratan road Narkatiaganj - Lauriya road, - Ramnagar road and Narkatiaganj - Gaunaha (in Narkatiaganj subdivision) among others following rainwater flowing over roads after West Champaran experienced 150.96mm rainfall in last 24 hours.
At district headquarters, life was thrown out of gear after waterlogging took place at several localities, market areas and main thoroughfare of the town, besides court, conference hall in collectorate and on premises of sub-divisional office.
Former Nagar Parishad president Garima Sikariya described the waterlogging problem as man-made. “A loot culture has gained frequency in one and a half dozen schemes worth about ₹87 lakh for smooth drainage. As a result entire town has turned into a pond twice,” said Sikariya.
Several villages in Bettiah (Sadar), Narkatiganj and Bagaha subdivision also reeled under water inundation. “Water gushing into houses have not been reported from any part of the subdivision,” Vidhyanath Paswan, SDM, Bettiah, said.
