Bihar rains: Road washed away in Kishanganj, repaired within six hours

In Bihar, between June and July last year, at least 14 bridges collapsed, prompting chief minister Nitish Kumar to take strong note of successive collapses and 15 engineers were suspended.

A road connecting NH-327 E in Bihar was washed away in Kishanganj district on Sunday following torrential rainfall and thunderstorms, officials said.

The road that got washed away in Kishanganj, Bihar. (HT Photo)

District magistrate (DM) Vishal Raj directed officials from the road construction department (RCD) to visit the site and take all possible steps to make it operational immediately.

About 20 feet of the road, known as DB50 under the Kochadhaman block, was washed away near Sarai in the early hours of Sunday disrupting the traffic.

“A SUV going by the road got stuck in the road that washed away, fortunately no one was hurt and later the vehicle was lifted with the help of a JCB,” locals said alleging “Since 2017, this is the third time when a portion of road got washed away in the rains at the same place.”

Talking to HT over phone on Monday, the DM said, “The road became motorable within six hours by Sunday evening,” adding, “the road was built by the RCD but it was compromised due to a gas pipeline running underneath it.”

The DM, however, said neither the gas pipeline agency, nor RCD were at fault.

“Some more steps need to be taken so that no such incident recurs,” the DM said.

Even bridges and roads were washed away recently in the district, raising serious questions over the quality of the work. “Many agencies conducted an investigation but so far no concrete steps have been taken,” locals alleged.

“This year the India Meteorological Department has forecast good rainfall and you can’t rule out more such incidents in the coming days,” locals alleged.

In Bihar, between June and July last year, at least 14 bridges collapsed, prompting chief minister Nitish Kumar to take strong note of successive collapses and 15 engineers were suspended.