12 in 17 days: Why are Bihar bridges falling down?

Bihar’s reputation has suffered as a result of back-to-back bridge collapses that have grabbed headlines in recent days.

Less than a month into the monsoon season, the record-breaking collapse of 12 bridges in 17 days has brought attention to the quality of construction and the materials used.

However, experts suggest that the root cause may be something else.

Potential lapses made by engineers and contractors engaged in recent de-siltation work were brought to the attention of a state Water Resources Department official.

Here’s what we know about it.

The bridge collapses

A bridge that crossed the Gandaki River and connected the panchayats of Saraiya and Satua collapsed on Thursday, disrupting connection in more than 50 villages, as per The Times of India.

More from Explainers

How ChatGPT is becoming everyone’s BFF and why that’s dangerous This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

This was the 12th such incident within 17 days.

As per News18, this is Saran’s second such collapse this week; earlier on Wednesday, a 150-year-old bridge collapsed in part. One of them was in the Lahladpur area and the other was in the Janta Bazar area.

Bridges in the districts of Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran, and Kishanganj have collapsed during the last two weeks.

The first to collapse was in the Sikti block of the Araria district, which borders Nepal, on June 18.

According to TOI, three under-construction bridges in north Bihar collapsed; the bridge in the Araria district over the Bakra river cost Rs 12 crore, the bridge in the Madhubani district over the Bhutahi Balan river cost Rs 3 crore, and the bridge in the East Champaran district cost Rs 1.5 crore.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

Ghaziabad woman dead, pilgrims attacked in bus… How Nepal’s Gen-Z protests turned into a living hell for Indian tourists

Were bodyguards involved in Charlie Kirk’s shooting? The many conspiracies surrounding the killing

The road construction department (RCD) builds high-value bridges and maintains major district roads (MDRs), state highways (SH) and national highways (NH). The Rural Works Department (RWD) is in charge of building roads and bridges under the Pradhan Mantri Gramme Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), which connects villages to block headquarters.

Every bridge that has collapsed comes within the purview of the RWD.

The state government as well as retired engineers connected to the Bihar Engineering Services Association (BESA) and others, are concerned about the frequency of bridge collapses, even though the majority of them are old, except the three that were under construction.

Potential causes

Former road construction department chief engineer JK Dutt told The Times of India, “The basic causes are tinkering with the bridge design, use of sub-standard materials, like low-value cement, unspecified sand, concrete, and steel rods thinner than the approved diameter and thickness. All this leads to the construction or erection of poor and week structures.”

“The contractor engaged to build the bridge is driven by profit. He violates norms of quality work, but it cannot happen without the collusion of local government engineers with the contractor,” a top contractor told the newspaper on condition of anonymity.

But according to News18 citing media reports, Chaitanya Prasad, the state Water Resources Department’s Additional Chief Secretary, accused the contractors of being careless and the engineers of not exercising enough caution.

Speaking to the media, Prasad said, “Six bridges collapsed on the river Gandak in Siwan and Saran on July 3 and July 4. It appears that engineers didn’t exercise proper care, and contractors were not diligent either. Engineers concerned seem at fault prima facie. Special flying squads have been dispatched to the sites, with a deadline of Friday to submit their report. Most of these bridges were thirty years old with shallow foundation. These foundations were eroded during desiltation."

As the rivers were being desilted, an official told NDTV that silt and mud were also cleared from the area surrounding the pillars that supported the bridges, leaving them without any support.

The impact on the embankments was overlooked when dredging — a process that involves clearing dirt, rocks, and other material from a river’s bottom — was carried out to improve water flow.

According to the official, the majority of the bridges were only exposed to seawater running under them during the monsoon and the intense rains in Bihar during this time. In certain instances, the pillars gave way due to insufficient support.

In other cases, the dredging caused the rivers to flow more quickly, which damaged the embankments and left the tops of the bridges without support.

Since it was initially determined that compromises at different stages of construction were the cause of the bridge collapse, RWD Minister Ashok Chaudhary suspended three engineers involved in the earlier Araria bridge collapse. An order was also issued to file an official complaint against the contractor in question, as per a TOI report.

Locals believe that the recent spate of intense rain in the area may have played a role in the collapse of these tiny bridges.

Adocvate Brajesh Singh filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking directions to the Bihar government to conduct a high-level structural audit of all the bridges in the state, including those under construction, as per The Telegraph Online.

Opposition’s jibe

A political storm has resulted from the bridge collapses as the opposition and the incumbent Nitish Kumar government argue over who should be held responsible.

Building Construction Minister Ashok Kumar Choudhary blamed then deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav for not setting up a good bridge maintenance policy when he was the state’s road construction and building construction minister. The latter responded saying it was a case of “pot calling the kettle black."

“Mahagathbandhan was Nitish Kumar’s partner for over just three of the last 20 years, the rest was all NDA,” the leader of Opposition said, demanding a thorough probe into the incidents.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, in a post on X on Thursday, wrote, “Twelve bridges have collapsed in Bihar since June 18…Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are silent over these incidents in Bihar. What happened to the claims of good governance and corruption-free government? These incidents show how corruption is rampant in every department of the state government.”

Dr Nikhil Anand, a BJP leader who now serves as the party’s national general secretary, “I am afraid of crossing through any flyover or bridge in Bihar. Surprised that in last 10 days half a dozen bridges have collapsed. A serious probe and auditing is needed. The responsibility be fixed on the construction company, blacklist them. The engineers must be booked.”

Corrective measures

The aforementioned incidents have prompted the Bihar government to take corrective measures.

As quoted by India Today, Prasad said, “New bridges will be constructed, and the cost will be imposed on the contractors found guilty.”

All bridges that have been in use for more than 30 years will be inspected for weaknesses and any necessary repairs will be made, he said.

Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary on Thursday told reporters, “The CM, after a review meeting on Wednesday, has given a clear instruction to officials concerned to conduct a survey of all old bridges in the state and identify those that require immediate repair. The CM has also asked departments concerned to immediately prepare their respective maintenance policy for bridges or causeways in the state.”

Additionally, Chaudhary, who is also the president of the state BJP, said that the government has already ordered an inquiry into the bridge collapse occurrences to determine the cause and that those found responsible will face severe penalties.

With inputs from agencies