Bihar Bridge Safety Crisis: Supreme Court Takes Action!

New Delhi – On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of India moved a public interest case about the safety of bridges in Bihar to the Patna High Court. This decision came after several bridges in Bihar collapsed in recent months, raising big worries about their safety and how long they can last.

A group of judges, including Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, said that the Patna High Court will check on the work being done to inspect and audit the bridges every month. They asked the person who filed the case, lawyer Brajesh Singh, along with state officials and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), to be present in the High Court on May 14 to discuss the next steps.

During the hearing, the Bihar government said it has checked about 10,000 bridges in the state. The judges mentioned they were sending the case to Patna after reviewing the government’s response, which explained the actions taken so far.

Previously, on November 18 last year, the Supreme Court gave the Bihar government another chance to respond to this case. Singh, the petitioner, wanted to include news reports and other documents in the case to show that many bridges are in poor condition in Bihar. In July, the court asked for responses from the Bihar government and NHAI regarding the case.

The public interest case wanted the government to conduct structural audits and set up a team of experts to suggest which bridges should be repaired or removed. The court has also asked for responses from several high-ranking officials in Bihar regarding the bridge safety issues.

Between May and July last year, at least ten bridges in various districts of Bihar like Siwan and Saran collapsed, and many people believe heavy rain played a role in these accidents. The situation is especially concerning during the Monsoon season, as Bihar gets a lot of rain and floods.

The petitioner pointed out that Bihar is one of the states most affected by floods in India, with a vast area of 68,800 square kilometers at risk, which is a lot of land. The petitioner stressed that because of this, the safety of bridges is very important to protect people’s lives, especially since some bridges have collapsed even before they were completed.

In response to these concerns, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has told the road construction and rural works departments to survey all old bridges in the state. They need to find out which ones need urgent repairs to keep people safe.