Bihar: Four suspended over bridge collapse incident in Kishanganj

An expert team has been sent to investigate, and the project director of NHAI, Bihar, had promised to take stringent action based on the report

Four persons including two engineers and two project managers were suspended by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) a day after a span of a 100-meter under-construction bridge over Mechi River on a-94-long stretch on NH-327 E between Galgaliya in Kishanganj and Araria had collapsed at Gorichak in Bihar’s Kishanganj on Friday.

A span of an under-construction bridge over Mechi River on NH-327 E had collapsed. (HT Photo)

Regional officer (NHAI) Abdhesh Kumar while confirming the action on Sunday, said four including two engineers team leader and bridge engineer of independent engineer, M/s Chaitanya Project Consultancy Pvt Ltd RN Jha and Mukesh Kumar respectively have been suspended.

“Besides senior project manager and deputy project manager (structure) of Concessionaire, M/s GR Galgaliya Bahadurganj Highway private limited Ram Gopal Rana and Shailesh Kumar respectively have also been suspended,” he said.

“Preliminary investigation reveals that recently there is sudden rise of water flow from Nepal in Meachi river on which this bridge is constructed. Further preliminary investigations have also revealed that the entire river was channelised through the P2-P3-P4 spans during the construction activity, leading to the constriction of water flow and excessive scour of the sandy river bed. This has possibly contributed to the settlement of the pile foundation at P3”, Kumar said.

“The superstructure was erected in May 2023 and the bridge is not yet in operation. There are no casualties or injuries to any construction workers”, he said.