Sattarghat Bridge on Gandak River in Bihar’s Gopalganj collapsed on Wednesday. (Source: Twitter/@yadavtejashwi)
Three FIR’s have been filed against members of the public after a portion of the approach road to a bridge in Gopalganj which was inaugurated by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in June was washed away by floodwaters of river Gandak. The bridge itself remains intact, officials said.
In the report, the officials have accused people led by panchayat leaders in the area of damaging the 24-metre-wide approach road, and of hampering repair and construction work on it. No FIR has been registered against the Hyderabad-based company that built the bridge and the approach roads.
However, when the older reports came out, this is how the opposition leaders in Bihar reacted.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Bihar Congress chief Madan Mohan Jha took to Twitter to take a dig at the chief minister on the issue and called him corrupt.
Tejashwi tweeted: “8 varsh mein 263.47 crore ki laagat se nirmit Gopalganj ke sattar ghat pul ka 16 June ko Nitish Ji ne udghaatan Kiya tha. Aaj, 29 din baad yeah pull dhwasta hogayaa. Khabaradar! agar kisi ne ise Nitish Ji ka Bhrastachar kaha toh? 263 crore sushashani muh dikhayi hai. Itne ki toh inke chuhe Sharab pi jaate hain (The Sattarghat bridge of Gopalganj, built at a cost of Rs 263.47 crore in 8 years, was inaugurated by Nitish Ji on Jun 16. Today, 29 days later, the bridge collapsed. Dare anyone call it corruption by Nitish Ji. Rs 263 crore is just a glimpse. Even their rats consume alcohol worth this amount).”
8 वर्ष में 263.47 करोड़ की लागत से निर्मित गोपालगंज के सत्तर घाट पुल का 16 जून को नीतीश जी ने उद्घाटन किया था आज 29 दिन बाद यह पुल ध्वस्त हो गया।
ख़बरदार!अगर किसी ने इसे नीतीश जी का भ्रष्टाचार कहा तो?263 करोड़ तो सुशासनी मुँह दिखाई है।इतने की तो इनके चूहे शराब पी जाते है pic.twitter.com/cnlqx96VVQ
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) July 15, 2020
In another tweet, he called Nitish the Bhishma Pitamah of organized corruption adding that he won’t utter a word on the bridge collapse. “Sangathit bhrastachar ke bhishma Pitamah Nitish Ji iss par ek shabd bhi nhi bolenge aur naa hi cycle se range rover ki sawari karaane waale Bhrastachari sahpaathi path nirmaan mantri ko barkhast karenge. Bihar mein charo taraf loot hi loot machi hui hai (Made on a budget of Rs 263 crore in eight years, the bridge collapsed in just 29 days. Father of the organised corruption Nitish Kumar will not utter a word on this. Nor will he suspend his corrupt road minister. Its loot all over in Bihar).”
263 करोड़ से 8 साल में बना लेकिन मात्र 29 दिन में ढ़ह गया पुल। संगठित भ्रष्टाचार के भीष्म पितामह नीतीश जी इस पर एक शब्द भी नहीं बोलेंगे और ना ही साइकिल से रेंज रोवर की सवारी कराने वाले भ्रष्टाचारी सहपाठी पथ निर्माण मंत्री को बर्खास्त करेंगे। बिहार में चारों तरफ लूट ही लूट मची है। pic.twitter.com/EIcQYPEHn8
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) July 16, 2020
On the other hand, Jha tweeted: “The inauguration of the bridge constructed at cost of Rs 263.47 crore on June 16 and its destruction on July 15. Now, don’t blame the poor rats for this.”
16 जून को 263.47 करोड़ रुपये की लागत से बने पुल का उद्घाटन और 15 जुलाई को उसका सत्यानाश ।
अब इसका आरोप बेचारे चूहों पर मत लगा देना। pic.twitter.com/H8enBRqTvU
— Dr. Madan Mohan Jha (@DrMadanMohanJha) July 15, 2020
The 9.1 km bridge – including a total 8.06 km of approach road on both sides of the river – connects Baikunthpur in Gopalganj district to Kesaria in East Champaran district. The chief minister inaugurated the bridge and its approaches, built at a cost of Rs 263.48 crore, by video link on June 16, exactly a month ago.