Union Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister, Nitin Gadkari, on Tuesday blamed low-quality construction material for the collapse of a bridge in Bhagalpur district of Bihar. A section of the bridge which connected Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district to Khagaria in Munger district collapsed on April 29. The Bihar government officials submitted a report to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways wherein it mentioned that the bridge had collapsed due to strong wind and fog. "Recently, a bridge collapsed in Bihar's Bhagalpur district. When I asked my secretary about that incident, he, on the basis of the report, said the bridge collapsed due to wind and fog," Gadkari said while addressing people at an event in New Delhi.
"Would you believe in the theory of wind and fog? You are an IAS officer. How could a bridge collapse due to wind and fog? There must be some other reasons. The construction material used in the bridge must be sub-standard. Hence, it had collapsed," he added during an interaction with his secretary which he shared during the event. The construction of the bridge measuring 3.16 km in length was started on March 9, 2015, with the estimated completion time of December 2019. The construction company has breached several deadlines and the bridge is yet to be completed. The estimated cost of the bridge is Rs 1,710 crore and is one of the ambitious projects of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, connecting Sultanganj in Bhagalpur district to adjoining Khagaria along the Ganga river. The Bihar road construction department is constructing this bridge and has also prepared approach roads from both the sides.