Nitin Gadkari Clarifies After Inauguration-Ready Bridge Collapses in Bihar's Araria

A newly constructed bridge in Bihar's Araria district collapsed before its inauguration, leading to political blame and safety concerns; Nitin Gadkari clarified it wasn't under the Central Road Transport Ministry.

Bihar Bridge Collapse: A newly constructed bridge over the Bakra river in Pararia village of Bihar's Araria district collapsed on Tuesday. The bridge was constructed to connect Araria's Sikhti and Kursakatta. Unfortunately, a part of the bridge was washed away before its inauguration.

Meanwhile, Office of Nitin Gadkari said in a post on X, "The bridge that collapsed in Araria, Bihar was not constructed under the Central Road Transport Ministry. Its work was going on under the Rural Development Ministry of the Bihar Government."

बिहार के अररिया में दुर्घटनाग्रस्त पुलिया का निर्माण केंद्रीय सड़क परिवहन मंत्रालय के अंतर्गत नहीं हुआ है। बिहार सरकार के ग्रामीण विकास मंत्रालय के अंतर्गत इसका काम चल रहा था। — Office Of Nitin Gadkari (@OfficeOfNG) June 18, 2024

The incident has raised significant concerns about infrastructure safety in the region. A video capturing the collapse depicts the bridge crumbling within seconds, reducing it to debris. Congress party's Srinivas BV seized the opportunity to take on the "double engine government" in Bihar.

#WATCH | Bihar | A portion of a bridge over the Bakra River has collapsed in Araria pic.twitter.com/stjDO2Xkq3

— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2024

"The bridge of the double engine government was washed away in water even before its inauguration," Srinivas BV wrote in a post on X. Last year in June, a portion of a temporary bridge built on River Ganga in the Vaishali district of Bihar was partly washed away by strong winds.

The temporary bridge connected Raghopur to the Vaishali District Headquarters.