After Bihar, portion of under-construction bridge collapses in Jharkhand’s Giridih | Watch

A portion of an under-construction bridge over the Arga River collapsed and a pillar got tilted in heavy rain in Jharkhand's Giridih district on Saturday night, news agency PTI reported on Sunday.

The bridge, which cost approximately over ₹5 crore, was being constructed to ease travel between Fatehpur and Bhelwaghati villages in Giridih's Deori subdivision. The incident took place in Deori block, around 235 km from Jharkhand's capital Ranchi.

No casualties were reported during the incident.

"The bridge is under construction. A single-span girder of the bridge collapsed due to heavy rain on Saturday night, and a pillar got tilted. The contractor has been asked to rebuild the portion," PTI quoted Vinay Kumar, Executive Engineer of the Road Construction Department, Giridih.

Another official said the girder's casting was done a week ago, and it needed to be strengthened for at least 28 days.

According to the locals, heavy rainfall in the area increased the speed and volume of water in the river, leading to the collapse of a section of the concrete bridge on Saturday night.

“At around 6.30 pm, the bridge started collapsing. By the time we reached the spot, a section of the bridge had already collapsed. We also heard a loud noise as the bridge collapsed, ” one of the locals told India Today.

"A pillar of the bridge also got tiled as the girder of the bridge fell into the river," he added.

It is important to note that several bridges have collapsed in the neighbouring state of Bihar in the recent past.

On June 28, a bridge collapsed in the Bheja police station area of the Madhubani district, making it the fifth such incident to have been reported from the state in just over a week. The bridge was being constructed at a cost of about ₹3 crore over the Bhutahi river, which has been in spate due to torrential rains in catchment areas of Nepal.

Last week, one incident each of bridge collapse was reported from the Araria, Siwan and East Champaran districts while a similar mishap took place in Kishanganj on Thursday.