Bihar bridge collapse: eyewitnesses say 'felt like a blast', allege 'corruption'

A day after an under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihar on June 4, 2023, eyewitnesses recounted their experience. The state government has claimed that some portions of the bridge had been brought down deliberately due to some design flaws.

One witness said to news agency ANI, "This shows corruption in government. Earlier, a similar incident had taken place. I feel that construction of the bridge will stretch beyond 2030 now."

Another witness said, "There was a very loud sound like something had exploded. I don't know if people will ever be able to use this bridge. Don't know if duplicate material is being provided."

The bridge was supposed to connect Khagaria district with Bhagalpur.

"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," Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said at a press conference.

(With PTI inputs)