Patna, May 17 (IANS) Days after a portion of the ‘Vikramshila Setu’ in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district collapsed, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has begun the construction of a temporary Bailey bridge over the damaged area.

The development comes as a major relief for the commuters, as the collapse of the bridge disrupted connectivity and caused difficulties for the general public.

As of now, a 49-metre-long temporary Bailey bridge is being constructed to restore light vehicular traffic.

Ahead of the construction on Saturday, priests, along with BRO personnel, performed ‘bhoomi pujan’ at the site. The officials aim to complete the construction as soon as possible, given the time constraint arising due to the problems being faced by commuters.

The Bihar government has planned to resume the movement of small vehicles on the bridge soon.

The incident had occurred in the wee hours of May 4, following which the Bihar government initiated administrative action and sought central assistance to fast-track repairs.

According to an official, following subsidence in the approach section on the Bhagalpur side, a stretch of nearly 33 meters of the bridge gave way and fell into the Ganga River.

The state’s Road Construction Department has suspended an Executive Engineer on charges of negligence.

Given the seriousness of the situation, Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary held discussions with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and senior military leadership for the construction of the bridge.

Connectivity across 16 districts, including the Seemanchal region and Jharkhand, was disrupted in the aftermath of the incident, and the daily movement of nearly 1 lakh people has also been affected.

The bridge serves as a critical lifeline between north and south Bihar.

The incident has raised serious concerns, especially as the bridge has undergone three rounds of repairs in the past decade, with the latest maintenance completed in March 2026.

The recurrence of structural damage has triggered questions about construction quality and oversight.

–IANS

cg/sd/