Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday expressed surprise over the statement of a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who blamed strong winds for the collapse of an under-construction road bridge in Bihar’s Sultanganj.
On 29 April, a part of a road bridge being built on the river Ganga in Sultanganj collapsed during a thunderstorm. However, there was no report of any casualty in this accident. Speaking at an event organized here, Gadkari said, “A bridge had collapsed in Bihar on April 29. On asking his secretary the reason for this, he replied that it was due to strong wind and mist.
The Union Minister wondered how can an IAS officer believe such an explanation? Gadkari said, “I don’t understand how the bridge can collapse due to wind and mist. There must have been some mistake due to which this bridge collapsed.
During the program the Minister stressed on the need to bring down the cost of construction of bridges without compromising on the quality.
The construction work of this bridge between Sultanganj and Aguani Ghat in Bihar started in the year 2014. Although, its construction was to be completed in 2019 itself but still it has not been completed.