Bihar Bridge Collapse: PIL Urges Supreme Court for Structural Audit and Expert Committee

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been submitted to the Supreme Court, urging the Bihar government to conduct a comprehensive structural assessment of bridges. The plea requests the formation of an expert committee to evaluate which bridges require reinforcement or demolition, based on the audit's findings.

In the span of just over two weeks, Bihar's Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran, and Kishanganj districts have witnessed ten instances of bridge collapses. Several reports suggest that the collapses could be linked to heavy rainfall during this period.

Advocate and petitioner Brajesh Singh's PIL has highlighted significant concerns regarding the safety and durability of bridges in Bihar, a state prone to floods and heavy monsoon rains.

The petitioner expressed grave concern in the PIL, noting that Bihar holds the unfortunate distinction of being the most flood-prone state in India. According to the petition, a staggering 68,800 square kilometers, which accounts for 73.06% of the state's total geographical area, is regularly affected by floods.

"Hence such routine accrual of the incident of falling bridges in Bihar is more disastrous as the lives of people at large are at stake. Therefore the urgent intervention of this court is required to save the lives of people, as the under-construction bridges before its accomplishment collapsed routinely," the petitioner said.