Departments such as road construction, rural development asked to issue notices to agencies and private contractors for ‘grave lapses’

With five bridges collapsing in a matter of 10 days in Bihar, the state’s Nitish Kumar government has sought detailed reports from its various departments, The Indian Express has learnt.

According to government sources, the state government has asked departments such as road construction and rural development to issue notices to agencies and private contractors involved in building these bridges for “grave lapses” — including using substandard material in construction, and poor maintenance.

“We are waiting for their reports before taking the next course of action,” a senior official at the Chief Minister’s Office told The Indian Express.

This is learnt to have come after the Bihar Engineering Services Association (BESA) — an independent network of people associated with Bihar’s engineering services — warned about more such incidents unless there’s some form of government intervention.

“There is an urgent need of a third-party inspection as suspending engineers or punishing contractors would not serve any purpose,” senior BESA functionary J K Dutt said.

The development comes two days after the collapse of a 77-metre girder from an under-construction bridge over the Kosi river in Madhubani.