Another bridge collapses in Bihar, 10th such incident in over 15 days
Patna (PTI): Another instance of bridge collapse came to the fore in Bihar on Thursday, making it the 10th such incident to have been reported from the state in just over a fortnight, an official said.
The latest incident was reported from Saran which witnessed two more bridge collapses in the last 24 hours, District Magistrate Aman Samir said.
No casualty was reported after the structure, built 15 years ago by local authorities, collapsed this morning, he said.
The small bridge over the Gandaki river was situated in the Baneyapur block and used to connect several villages in Saran with the neighbouring Siwan district.
“The small bridge was constructed 15 years ago. I am going to the spot. Several other officials of the district administration have already reached there. The exact cause of the bridge collapse is yet to be ascertained but desilting work was recently undertaken," the district magistrate told PTI.
On Wednesday, the Saran district witnessed the collapse of two small bridges - one in Janta Bazar area and another in Lahladpur area.
“A high-level probe has been ordered to find out the reason for the collapse of these small bridges in the district," the DM said.
According to locals, heavy rainfall for the last few days in the district might have contributed to the collapse of these small bridges.
Altogether 10 bridges collapsed in Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj districts in the past 16 days.
The latest incident took place a day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar directed the road construction and rural works departments to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those that require immediate repair.
The CM had on Wednesday chaired a meeting to review the maintenance policies and said the road construction department has already prepared its bridge maintenance policy and the rural works department should immediately chalk out its plan at the earliest.
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Bengal: Hundreds stage protest over 'threats' by TMC workers
Kolkata (PTI): Demanding safety after counting of votes, hundreds of villagers staged a protest in Falta in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, alleging they were receiving life threats from TMC workers in the area.
The protesters, many of them women and holding BJP flags, blocked the road in Hasimnagar village, alleging that local panchayat pradhan Israfil, a close associate of TMC candidate Jehangir Khan, issued them threats of attacks after poll results are announced.
The CRPF deputy commandant visited the area with a large force and assured the demonstrators of ensuring their safety.
Khan dismissed the allegations and said the women were "deployed" by the BJP to stage the demonstration and engineer the arrest of TMC functionaries in the area before the counting to "harm the morale of the TMC supporters".
"If the charges are proved, I am ready to face the law," he said.
Fatima Bibi, one of the protesters belonging to the BJP's Mahila Morcha, claimed Israfil and his men "have been visiting the area since April 30 and threatening us that there would be bloodshed from May 5. We demand CRPF remain in the area".
The CRPF official said, "We are here to instill confidence among the people with support of the local police, We have assured them of full security."
An Election Commission official said a report has been sought about the protests from the district administration.
