Bihar suspends 11 engineers after 10 bridges collapse in quick succession

Eleven engineers of Bihar’s Water Resources Department have been suspended after 10 bridges collapsed across the state in the last 15 days, the department said in a statement.

Bihar Development Minister Chaitanya Prasad told reporters that the state government was taking the issue seriously. He said the contractors responsible for building the bridges would be tracked down and brought to book.

On Thursday, the tenth bridge collapse in the state was reported in Saran district. It was also the third bridge to collapse within 24 hours.

The ten collapsed bridges were in the districts of Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj.

“The Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar) directed the officials after a review meeting on Wednesday to conduct a survey of all old bridges and identify those which require immediate repairs,” Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary told reporters, adding that the survey was underway.