A senior district administrative official claimed that the bridge was washed away by the strong current of Ganga river as the river was in spate following heavy showers in the area in the last few days. Local residents said that the bridge collapsed around 11 pm on Friday, snapping communication between Raghopur East and Raghopur West panchayats. They said that the bridge was constructed nearly 20 years ago but it became completely dilapidated over a period of time. As a precautionary measure, the movement of heavy vehicles on the bridge has been banned. Due to the collapse of the bridge, around 20,000 people of two panchayats under Raghopur assembly constituency have lost connectivity with the block and the district headquarters. They have sought immediate intervention of the state government to make alternative arrangement to restore communication. “We have also informed our MLA Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s representative and officials of the district administration. However, nothing has been done in this regard so far,” said a visibly upset Vinod Yadav, a resident of Raghopur East. On July 29, Supreme Court issued notice to the Bihar government on a petition seeking to issue directions to the state government to conduct the highest level of structural audit of all existing and under-construction bridges in the state and to demolish or retrofit weak structures depending on feasibility in the wake of the collapse of bridges in the state. On Thursday, a portion of bridge constructed over Ganga river collapsed at Bakia Sukhay in Katihar district. The bridge was being constructed at a cost of Rs 3 crore by the rural works department. Two pillars of the bridge were washed away due to increased flow of river water. Earlier, reports of bridge collapse poured in from Kishanganj, Araria, East Champaran, West Champaran, Saran, Siwan and Gopalganj districts. Reacting to frequent incidents of bridge collapse in the state, Tejashwi quipped, “What action has been taken by the government in such incidents is not known to us.”
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