Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has expressed shock at holding ‘strong winds’ responsible for the collapse of a section of an under-construction road bridge in Bihar’s Sultanganj. He said that I am surprised by this statement of the IS officer.
A section of an under-construction road bridge over the Ganga in Sultanganj collapsed during a thunderstorm on April 29. There is no report of any casualty in this incident. To this, Gadkari said at an event here, “A bridge collapsed in Bihar on April 29. I asked my secretary the reason for this. He (Secretary) said it was because of strong winds (wind and mist).”
The Road Transport and Highways Minister said he wondered how an IAS officer could believe such an explanation. He said, “I am not able to understand how the bridge will fall due to wind and mist? Something must have gone wrong. There must have been some error, due to which the bridge collapsed.”
The Minister also stressed on the need to bring down the cost of construction of bridges without compromising on the quality. The Union Minister said, “The possibility of using substandard material in the construction of the bridge cannot be ruled out… The subject of investigation is that the bridge under construction at a cost of Rs 1,710 crore could not even withstand strong winds.”
The construction of the bridge between Sultanganj and Aguani Ghat in Bihar began in 2014. It was to be completed in 2019. On the other hand, Sultanganj MLA Lalit Narayan Mandal had earlier said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered an inquiry into the collapse of the bridge. Nitin Gadkari said that the material involved in the construction of the bridge should be investigated. He said that if the bridge built at a cost of Rs 1710 crore can collapse due to strong wind then it should be investigated.