Engineer fired has returned to the Bihar bridge-building panel

On June 4, a bridge being constructed in Bihar across the Ganga between Aguanighat in the Khagaria district and Sultanganj in Bhagalpur collapsed. The bridge was 3.15 km long.

The project’s deputy chief engineer, Sunil Kumar, as well as Niraj Saxena, the managing director of Bihar Raj Pul Nirman Nigam Limited (BRPNNL)’s secretary, were both moved on June 5. Abhay Kumar Singh, the secretary for tourism, was given the additional responsibility of leading the company as MD on June 11. Saxena received a show-cause notice and was fired as the MD of BRPNNL. In the state, bridge construction is the responsibility of the BRPNNL.

The general administrative department (GAD) issued a new announcement the next day (June 12), and Singh was appointed chairman of the BRPNNL and Sunil Kumar was promoted to managing director.

On June 5, Vijay Kumar, an executive engineer who had been fired from the project a year before when a section of it collapsed, was appointed the new deputy chief engineer, thereby taking the place of Kumar. Since Saxena is the senior most engineer there and was moved to the cabinet vigilance department on June 30, it is probable that everyone will be informed of his appointment as engineer-in-chief. The top investigative authority in the state government is the Cabinet Vigilance Department.

Additionally, SP Singla Construction Ltd, a company located in Haryana that is engaged in the project, has been given permission to continue with the bridge’s construction.

It seems obvious that the more things change in Bihar, the more they stay the same.

The 3.16-kilometer-long bridge’s construction started in 2014 when Nitish Kumar, the chief minister, placed the foundation stone on February 23. 2019 was the projected completion date for the bridge.

Saxena, who was appointed chief engineer of the monitoring division after being removed as managing director of BRPNNL, declined to comment, but officials with the state’s Road Construction Department said he played a minimal role in overseeing the bridge’s construction because he only assumed that position in December of last year, even though the work had been ongoing since 2015.

MD BRPNNL While serving as the project’s deputy chief engineer, Kumar said he was not actively involved in the construction. He also refused to speak, citing the state government’s current investigation.

Officials acquainted with the situation claimed that additional chief secretary (road) Pratyaya Amrit, who has been in charge of the investigation, has so far held two rounds of hearings with the construction company.

Several calls and texts requesting feedback from Amrit went unanswered.

A participant in the proceedings who wished to remain unnamed stated the building business had acknowledged a flaw in the bridge’s design and offered to build the bridge and clear the river of trash at no extra expense.

Hanuman Prasad Chaudhary, the RCD’s head engineer, refused to comment. Once the BRPNNL provides its report on it, “we will look into the engineering aspect,” he added.

A case pertaining to this is also being heard by the Patna High Court.

“The claims that debris may be removed from the Ganga River are yet another hoax since no technology has been successfully used to do this. Additionally, due of the ecology of the river, which is being developed as a dolphin sanctuary, and since it has turned into spate, it won’t be simple to remove the debris, according to an engineer who wished to remain anonymous.

On June 7, the high court took notice of a public interest lawsuit brought by Congressman Lalan Kumar and ordered SP Singla Construction Limited’s managing director and the state government to provide a thorough response on the bridge collapse within two weeks.

According to Chandan Kumar, the lawyer for the petitioner, the next hearing is scheduled on August 12. He said that the respondents had asked for more time since they were unable to submit their reply as the court had ordered.

On behalf of the government, advocate general PK Shahi made an appearance.

Days after the June 5 collapse, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, referred to “design and workmanship along with issues with construction materials” as the cause of the tragedy in its preliminary assessment presented to the government.

RCD claimed to have started the construction business’s blacklisting procedure shortly after the occurrence; the company was given 15 days to respond.