In a shocking incident, an under-construction bridge being built across the Ganga in Bhagalpur district of Bihar collapsed into the river on Sunday evening. This is the second time that the bridge being built at a cost of Rs 1,716 crore has collapsed in the river.

#Bihar a portion of under construction bridge over Ganga river collapsed today. The Aguanhighat Sultanganj bridge will connect Khagaria and Bhagalpur districts. pic.twitter.com/7DLTQszso7

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 4, 2023

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has come in for severe criticism over the fiasco and has ordered an investigation into the issue. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported in the disaster.

The slabs placed on pillars 9, 10 and 11 of the 4-lane bridge being built to connect Sultanganj to Aguani Ghat came crashing down in the river at 6 pm on Sunday. Last year, too, the bridge had collapsed with pillars 4, 5 and 6 giving way, according to a Times of India report.

The bridge is being built by a private company, Singla Construction Ltd, and is already lagging three years behind its scheduled date of completion which was March 2020.

The Bihar Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone for the bridge in February 2014.