Sattarghat bridge on Gandak River in Gopalganj district collapsed on Wednesday. The bridge collapsed after water flow increased in the river due to heavy rainfall. Interestingly, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had inaugurated the bridge on June 16, 2020.
The bridge was constructed at a cost of Rs 263.47 crore. The bridge on Gandak river reduced the road distance between towns of East Champaran to Gopalganj, Siwan and Saran districts.
Commenting on the incident, Bihar Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav said that the approach slab which is located 2 kms away from main Sattarghat bridge, has collapsed. He stated that no damages have been caused to the bridge, just the approach slab has collapsed. The Sattarghat bridge of Gopalganj built at a cost of Rs 263.47 crore in 8 years, was inaugurated by Nitish Ji on June 16. Today, 29 days later the bridge collapsed.
Facing flak, the road construction department immediately went on a denial mode and said that there was no damage to the bridge as being reported in a section of media. “About two kilometres from the main bridge, on the side of Gopalganj, an approach road of 18 metres long bridge has been eroded by heavy water pressure of Gandak river. This bridge is situated inside the embankment area of Gandak. There is no damage to the bridge. The main bridge is absolutely safe and traffic will be restored on the road once water pressure reduces. There is no question of irregularities in its construction. This is a natural disaster,” said additional chief secretary, road construction department, Amrit Lal Meena.
Cover Image- India Tv
