Bihar's falling bridges a sign of rot in our system

Bihar’s bridges have been hit by an epidemic of collapse. Across the state, 12 bridges collapsed in a fortnight, luckily without fatalities or injuries to people. The Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has set up a high-level committee to investigate the collapses. The chief minister has told officials to examine all existing bridges for safety and upkeep. Sixteen engineers have been suspended. That is an inadequate and unconvincing response.

There should certainly be more than one person per bridge responsible for the collapse. An association of engineers has warned that there could be more collapses when the monsoon strengthens. Some of the collapsed bridges were under construction. The collapses raise serious questions that go beyond engineering and maintenance to governance and politics.

Various reasons have been given for the collapses. They include design flaws, poor construction, use of substandard material in building and maintenance, and unscientific dredging and desilting of rivers leading to weakening of pillars. These are only proximate and immediate causes, and the real reason is the political and governance failure which allowed bad design, poor construction, and absence of oversight and regular maintenance. It is well-known that the contractors must pay a share, often a high percentage, of the tendered amount to politicians and officials, and so cut corners and compromise on quality. Bihar has seen bridge collapses in the past.

A 3 km bridge over the Ganga in Bhagalpur district collapsed twice last year. Officials suspended after the collapse return to service after a while, and inquiry reports do not see the light of day. Most importantly, no minister or politician is held accountable for collapses that result from poor governance and administration, and, most importantly, corruption. The public funds that go down the river and into the hands of politicians, officials, and contractors are never recovered. The people are inconvenienced and shortchanged. The debris of the collapse causes serious pollution which goes unnoticed.

Bihar may only be an extreme case. Infrastructure of all kinds—roads, expressways, bridges, buildings, check dams, and even bigger dams—have collapsed in the country. The Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat in 2022 killed over 140 people. Airport canopies have come crashing down in Delhi, Rajkot, Lucknow, and Jabalpur in the last few weeks. Such incidents are signs of failure of governance, and Bihar is sending them out repeatedly. The disasters are unlikely to abate unless a culture of safety, integrity, and accountability becomes the guiding norm of public life and official conduct.