Another under-construction bridge in Bihar caves in
Kishanganj, Jun 24: Barely three weeks after an under-construction bridge over the Ganga collapsed in Bihar's Khagaria district, a portion of another bridge in Kishanganj district caved-in on Saturday, an official said.
In the incident, which took place around 400 km from state capital Patna, a pillar of the bridge over river Mechi collapsed, said Arvind Kumar, project director of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).
"The under-construction bridge on NH-327E would have linked Kishanganj and Katihar upon completion", the official said.
Claiming that nobody was injured in the accident, the official said, "a five-member team" of experts has been constituted to investigate the cause.
"Prima facie it seems to be an instance of human error during the piling process," the official said.
The state government, meanwhile, clarified that the structure was part of a central project and the authority to take action rested with the NHAI.
Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, who holds the road construction portfolio, said, "The bridge is being constructed by the NHAI as part of the Centre's Bharat Mala project. It has nothing to do with Bihar government."
"It is the NHAI which is empowered to reward or punish officials or agencies concerned," Yadav added.
On June 4, an under-construction bridge, which was supposed to connect Khagaria district with Bhagalpur, had collapsed.
The incident, which claimed the life of a security guard, had evoked a huge outcry since despite an initial deadline of November 2019, it remained incomplete.
The Bihar Engineering Services Association had expressed concern and stressed on the need for "structural audit" of all bridges, complete as well as under-construction, in the state.
#WATCH | Pillar of an under-construction bridge on Mechi River which connects Katihar and Kishanganj districts in Bihar, caves in near Gori village on NH-327E. pic.twitter.com/VsYAP9xnl7
— ANI (@ANI) June 24, 2023
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IPL mega auction to be held in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on November 24, 25: BCCI
New Delhi, Nov 5: The mega auction ahead of the Indian Premier League 2025 will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on November 24 and 25, the BCCI announced on Tuesday.
This is the second successive year the auction is being held overseas as Dubai hosted the previous one ahead of the IPL 2024.
The player registration officially closed on Monday and a total of 1,574 cricketers (1,165 Indian and 409 overseas) have been signed up for the auction, which will clash with the third and fourth day’s play of the first Test between India and Australia in Perth, which begins on November 22.
Each franchise will be able to form a maximum squad of 25 players (including respective retained players), and a total of 204 slots will be up for grabs from the auction.
The list includes 320 capped players, 1,224 uncapped players and 30 players from the Associate Nations.
Among capped players, 48 are from India. Moreover, 965 uncapped players of the country will also be part of the auction.
This year’s auction will feature some high-profile India stars such as Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Arshdeep Singh.
The 10 franchises will collectively have around Rs 641.5 crore to spend for the available 204 slots.
Out of those 204 slots, 70 are earmarked for overseas players.
As of now, 46 players have been retained by the 10 franchises with cumulative expenditure of Rs 558.5 crore.
Each franchise was allocated Rs 120 crore to build their squads but after the retention process, which was announced on October 31, Punjab Kings have the biggest purse -- Rs 110.5 crore.
The Punjab outfit retained just two uncapped players -- Shashank Singh and Prabhsimran Singh for Rs 9.5 crore.
Rajasthan Royals, under Sanju Samson, have the smallest purse of Rs 41 crore after retaining six players.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have also retained six players but they have a remaining purse of Rs 51 crore.
