10 labourers injured as under construction bridge collapses in Bihar’s Katihar

This is the fourth under construction bridge being collapsed in Bihar during the last few months and local people have raised serious question over the quality of work

Ten labourers were injured after an under construction reinforced cement concrete (RCC) bridge collapsed in Bihar’s Katihar on Saturday evening, officials said. Four of them were seriously injured and they are undergoing treatment at Purnia government medical college and hospital.

Four labourers were serious injured after the under construction bridge collapsed on Saturday evening. (Representative Image)

Three under construction bridges have collapsed in Bihar during the last few months, raising serious question over the quality of work. Earlier, under construction bridges in Kishanganj, Saharsa and Bhagalpur were collapsed before inauguration.

The shuttering of the under construction RCC bridge was being carried on when it collapsed on Saturday evening.

The bridge was being built on Kosi stream near Nata Tola under Dummar panchayat to connect the peoples of two blocks of Katihar Sameli and Barari at the cost of ₹1 crore. The foundation stone was laid one year ago.

The Purnia’s private company was assigned the tender of the construction and it was to be completed in July.

The Sameli block development officer (BDO), Sunil Kumar, and the Pothia police led by Vinay Tiwari, who rushed to the site after the incident, said all the injured were admitted to the hospital. They said four labourers who sustained serious injuries were sent to Purnia government medical college and hospital for better treatment. They, however, said that all the labourers are out of danger.

BDO said the department concerned has been intimated about the incident.

The bridge was being constructed under the Mukhyamantri Grameen Sampark Yojna and the bridge construction was being monitored by the Rural Work Department.

The employees and engineer of the company were missing from the site and they could not be contacted for their comments. Locals, however, alleged that they had been raising their objections right from the beginning of the construction as sub standard materials were being used. “We have protested several times but neither government officials nor company’s engineer paid any heed to our protest,” said Md Jamil, a local.

Meanwhile, the long cherished dream of thousands of residents of dozens of villages of Sameli and Barari blocks has got delayed, if not shattered. “We had thought it would be completed in July this year,” the locals said alleging corruption.

Former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Neeraj Kumar Yadav alleged substandard material was being used in the making of the bridge and he demanded a thorough probe. “We want a probe so that guilty can be brought to book” he said.