It collapsed again! Live video exposure, costing billions of rupees on the Ganges River | India | Bridge

According to multiple media reports, on June 4th local time, the Agawani Sultan Ghanji Bridge under construction across the Ganges River in Bihar, India, collapsed again after last year's collapse. Witnesses at the scene captured footage of the bridge collapsing, and authorities stated that there were currently no casualties in the accident.

It is reported that Nitish Kumar, the chairman of the People's Party, a local political party in Bihar, and the chief minister of Bihar, has admitted to design flaws in the bridge and has ordered an investigation into the collapse incident and demanded that the responsible person be identified. It is understood that this bridge costs 17.1 billion rupees and has a total length of 3.1 kilometers. It was originally expected to be completed around November to December this year. Russian media reported that the collapse of the bridge once again has raised doubts about the quality of building materials. Indian media reported that this incident has sparked discussions about corruption within India.

It is worth noting that just two days before the collapse of the bridge, on June 2nd, the "deadliest train accident in India in recent years" occurred in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, causing thousands of casualties. The Indian authorities stated that preliminary investigations have shown that the accident was caused by signal issues in the electronic interlocking system. It is reported that the railway where the accident occurred is crucial for Indian migrant workers, who usually come from the poorer eastern and central regions of India and need to take cheap trains to work in more developed southern cities.

The Agwani Sultan Ghanji Bridge has collapsed again since last year's collapse

Did it collapse once last year with serious design flaws?

The ruling party: This is a "bridge of corruption"

It is reported that if the Agwani Sultan Ganji Bridge is completed, it can reduce the required transportation time across regions, alleviate traffic congestion, and make regional connections closer. Therefore, this bridge is very important compared to Harbang. However, with a loud roar on June 4th, the bridge collapsed within seconds.

Vice Chief Minister of Bihar State Yadawan

After the incident, Chief Minister Kumar of Bihar stated that he would investigate the matter and requested the identification of the person responsible for the incident. However, according to Indian media reports, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Yadawan, stated that the collapse was a "planned demolition". According to Yadavan, after the collapse of part of the bridge body due to rainstorm last year, the government assigned researchers from IIT Roorkee Institute, which focuses on the construction industry, to analyze the structure of the bridge. "Although the final analysis results have not yet been released, experts have informed us that there are serious defects in the structure of the bridge." An official from the Ministry of Road Construction, Amritt, added that the government does not want to take the risk of demolishing the "defective" bridge only after the final report is released.

However, spokesperson for the ruling Indian People's Party, Powala, described the bridge as a "corrupt bridge" and criticized Kumar. Senior BJP official Malawi has called for the resignation of state government officials, including Chief Minister Kumar. Another BJP official, Chowdhury, also called on Kumar to resign. It is understood that Kumar ended his party's ruling alliance with BJP in 2022 and instead joined forces with the opposition party, the National People's Party, to form the Bihar government, with Yadawan being the leader of RJD.

It is reported that this is not the first time a bridge collapse has occurred in India. At the end of October last year, a century old suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat, western India suddenly broke, causing hundreds of deaths. Later, it was reported that the maintenance contractor for this bridge was a group specialized in clocks, lighting fixtures, and the actual repair work was carried out by an unknown small company. Indian media pointed out at the time that the collapse of the bridge exposed an undeniable infrastructure vulnerability in the country, once again exposing India's extreme lack of ability to manage a large number of people in public places.

The construction of railways costs a huge amount of money

Reduced budget in terms of maintenance

Just two days before the collapse of the Agwani Sultan Ghanji Bridge, India experienced the deadliest train accident in recent years, which undoubtedly drew attention from all sectors to the issue of railway traffic safety in India.

The "deadliest train accident in India in recent years" only occurred in the eastern Indian state of Odisha

As one of the largest railway systems in the world, India's national railway network is approximately 64000 kilometers, carrying tens of millions of passengers per day. In the past few years, India has also been vigorously expanding and constructing its domestic infrastructure, especially the railway industry, in a costly manner. Data shows that in the previous fiscal year, the Indian government spent nearly $30 billion on the country's railway system, an increase of 15% compared to the previous year. The World Bank also pointed out in a report in April that the Indian government's expenditure on achieving long-term goals has increased compared to before the outbreak, especially in infrastructure construction, including railway networks. According to Indian Railway Minister Vishnau, approximately 5200 kilometers of new railways were completed last year.

At the same time, the country's expenditure on basic maintenance of railway tracks and other safety measures has been decreasing. According to a report released by an independent Indian agency last year, the government has allocated relatively little funds for track maintenance and updates, and officials have not even spent all of these funds. In addition, India has a specific foundation dedicated to the renovation and maintenance of railway tracks, and its budget decreased by nearly a quarter between 2017 and 2021.

There are reports that since Indian Prime Minister Modi took office in 2014, the country has taken an important step in train operation safety, and India has also developed a local automatic train protection system - Kavach, to improve train operation safety. It is understood that the cost of developing Kavach has reached 168.8 million rupees so far. As part of Modi's "India Autonomy" program, the system has been applied to 2000 kilometers of railway lines in India, accounting for less than 4% of the total length of Indian railways. However, a spokesperson for the Indian railway department stated that the system was not applied on the line where the accident occurred.

Red Star News reporter Li Jinrui