Bihar bridge collapse: CM Nitish Kumar blames 'poor construction'

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said he has instructed officials to take strict action against those responsible for the "poor construction work" of the under-construction bridge over River Ganga, which had collapsed in the State's Bhagalpur district a day ago.
"The bridge that collapsed yesterday had collapsed last year also. I have instructed the authorities concerned to look into the matter seriously. It is not being constructed correctly that's why it is collapsing again and again. The department will look into it, I have instructed officials to visit the site and action will be taken," said CM Nitish Kumar. Kumar said he instructed officials to visit the site of the Aguani-Sultanganj bridge and vowed strict action against those responsible.
CM expressed his disappointment over the delay in the completion of the bridge and said that together with his deputy Tejashwi Yadav they will instruct for the completion of the bridge as soon as possible.
When asked about the demand for the resignation of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the wake of the recent train accident in Odisha, the chief minister said, "A train accident took place in West Bengal when I was the Railway Minister. I immediately asked the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to accept my resignation who was not willing to accept my resignation initially."
"Earlier the Railway budget was presented separately but this new government has abolished the separate Railway budget... I will not comment if Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw should resign or not," he said further.
Nitish Kumar also said that a meeting of the opposition scheduled for June 12 has been postponed. "Opposition meeting to be held on June 12 has been postponed. Heads of all political parties were supposed to come to the meeting, it's not right if any other representative will come. So we've asked Congress party that the head of the party should come. The new date of the meeting will be announced later."
As part of efforts to forge a united front against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Nitish Kumar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi on May 22 at Kharge's residence. (ANI)