Bridge collapses in Bihar; Govt says it was defective, being pulled down
Khagaria/Bhagalpur, Jun 4: An under-construction bridge over the Ganga river collapsed in Bihar on Sunday, portions of which were deliberately destroyed in a planned fashion under expert advice as it had design flaws, claimed state government officials.
The bridge was supposed to connect Khagaria district with Bhagalpur.
Images of the mishap that took place in Khagaria evoked immediate criticisms from the opposition, prompting Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav and Additional Chief Secretary of Road Construction Department, Pratyay Amrit, to hold a hurried press conference.
"It may be recalled that a portion of this bridge had collapsed on April 30 last year. We had, thereafter, approached IIT-Roorkee, which is esteemed for its expertise in construction matters, to conduct a study. It is yet to come up with a final report but experts who had studied the structure had informed us that there were serious defects," Yadav said at the press conference.
Amrit, who took over, added, "It was decided that we must not take any chance and wait for a final report. So we went ahead with pulling down parts of the bridge. Today's incident was a part of such a preventive exercise".
Once the final report comes, which is expected shortly, the state government would contemplate action like lodging of FIR and blacklisting of the company which was awarded the contract, he said.
The bridge was said to have involved an estimated cost of Rs 1,700 crore.
As images of the collapsing portion were beamed on media outlets, state BJP president reacted strongly and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Choudhary said the incident shows that "corruption is rampant" under the rule of the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government.
"Sub-standard materials were used for the construction of the bridge. The CM is least bothered about the development of Bihar...he is busy on his tour. He must resign from his post after this incident."
Notably, one labourer died and another was injured after a portion of an under-construction bridge collapsed in Nalanda district in November last year.
Meanwhile in Bihar: The under-construction bridge collapsed.
— BALA (@erbmjha) June 4, 2023
Total cost: ₹1750 crore pic.twitter.com/y4FPFsei5p
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Tej Pratap Yadav to contest from Mahua assembly seat in Bihar polls
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Patna (PTI): Former Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav, who was recently expelled from the RJD by his father and founding president Lalu Prasad, has announced that he would contest the upcoming Bihar assembly elections from Mahua seat in Vaishali district as an Independent candidate.
He is currently the MLA of Hasanpur seat in Samastipur district.
Speaking to reporters at his residence here on Saturday evening, he said, "Yes, this time, I will contest the elections from Mahua assembly seat as an Independent candidate. My opponents must have started to feel an itch."
"I have people's support... a large number of people are now connected with my 'Team Tej Pratap Yadav', a social media platform to reach out to people," he added.
He further claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would not retain his post after the assembly polls.
"I am confident that 'chacha' (Nitish) will not become the CM... those who would form the government, if they talk about youths, employment, education, and health, Tej Pratap Yadav will stand with them," he said.
The former Bihar minister was expelled from the party on May 25 by his father Lalu Prasad for six years.
He was expelled a day after he reportedly confessed on social media to being "in a relationship" with a woman named Anushka.
He, however, later deleted the Facebook post with a claim that his page was "hacked". Lalu Prasad also disowned Tej Pratap due to his "irresponsible behaviour".
A few days after his expulsion from the party, Tej Pratap had alleged that there was a "conspiracy" to drive a wedge between him and his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.
He had voiced his sentiments in a couple of posts on his X handle, blaming the crisis on 'Jaichand', a metaphor for traitors.
His expulsion came barely a few months ahead of the Bihar assembly polls, which the RJD will fight under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav. Born to Prasad and Rabri Devi, both former chief ministers of Bihar, the two brothers are among four of nine siblings active in politics.
Tej Pratap Yadav had made his political debut in the assembly polls of 2015, and is a second-term MLA with two brief stints in the state cabinet.
