Part of pontoon bridge washed away in Bihar

The 1,200-metre-long bridge built over river Ganga linked the riverine belt of Raghopur and Hajipur town in Vaishali district.

A 1,200-metre-long pontoon bridge built over river Ganga, linking the riverine belt of Raghopur and Hajipur town in Vaishali district of Bihar, was washed away due to high-velocity wind and rain on Wednesday, locals and officials said.

A portion of the pontoon bridge over river Ganga, connecting Hajipur with Raghopur in Vaishali district, was washed away. (HT photo)

At the time of incident, more than 50 people were on the part of pontoon bridge.They were rescued with the help of countrymade boats.

According to Gautam Singh, a local BJP activist, more than three lakh people in 22 panchayats of Raghopur block are facing problem of connectivity after the incident.

An executive engineer of the public works department, who didn’t want to be named, told HT that ropes used for connecting pontoons snapped and the entire bridge disassembled. “We are now trying to bring back all pontoons together to restart the traffic between Raghopur and Vaishali,” he said, adding that the pontoon bridge is dismantled on or before June 30 in the wake of the monsoon every year. For eight months, locals commute on pontoon bridge, while for the remaining four months, they travel in countrymade boats, he said.