Patna, June 11: Mahatma Gandhi Setu, the lifeline to north Bihar, faced another jolt when the viaduct on Patna side near pillar No. 46 was damaged over an area of 2.5 metres, leaving commuters stranded for nearly an hour.
The bridge has been in a bad shape for more than two decades with both the Union and state governments blaming each other.
The movement of vehicles is restricted and frequent traffic snarls on Gandhi Setu have become a regular feature. The damage today created a fright among officials who rushed to the bridge to see if movement of vehicles on the bridge had stopped completely.
The incident occurred at 11.30am and soon after the technical team and engineers of the road construction department rushed to the spot to assess the situation. The damaged viaduct - a viaduct is also known as approach road connecting the bridge - was clearly visible in which the iron rod has come out and the span was broken.
Experts on the spot denied any damage to the pillar. However, they were firm that it was caused by heavy loads of vehicles. "The joint of the span has been damaged due to heavy loads of vehicles. It is not an alarming situation and by tomorrow our team will repair it. We will also cover the portion with steel plate. No damage has taken place to the pillar," said Manoranjan Kumar Sinha, chief engineer (monitoring), road construction department.
To streamline traffic, barricading has been done on the damaged part and vehicles are passing in a regulated way. It is the portion, which goes towards Hajipur from Patna and vehicles are allowed to pass on a 3.5m stretch of total 7m.
Traffic superintendent of police P.K. Das said the situation is under control and traffic is being monitored smoothly over Gandhi Setu.
It is the same stretch, which is being used in a limited manner because of ongoing repair work on its western flank between pillar Nos. 43 and 46. Earlier, the 44th span (near Patna-end) on the western flank of the bridge had plunged 2ft below the normal level of the bridge, forcing its closure for more than two years after which the repair is going on.
On November 26, 2014, two pillars - Nos. 34 and 35 - had tilted by 12 inches after which the road construction department had restricted vehicles on that portion of the bridge.
As things stands now, the condition of the 5.575km Gandhi Setu is bad and if movement on this bridge is stopped then life would become tough as people would have to take circuitous route for crossing the Ganga through existing Rajendra Bridge, around 100km east of Gandhi Setu. Moreover, Rajendra Bridge, constructed in 1954, is functioning with restrictions and heavy vehicles are not allowed to use it.
The western lane of Gandhi Setu was opened for traffic in 1982 and the eastern lane was opened in 1987. The need of repairing the bridge was first felt in 1991.
Soon after the news of Gandhi Setu came, road construction department minister Tejaswi attacked the Centre, saying if anything unpleasant happens on any given day, the Union government would be responsible for it.
"Twice I have met Union minister Nitin Gadkari and sent him five reminders and even tweeted about the same on June 3 that the Centre is totally responsible for Gandhi Setu's worsening condition. I have repeatedly reminded him. However, it seems Gadkari ji is not interested and wants the people of Bihar to suffer," said Tejaswi.
However, former road construction minister and senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav blamed the state government for the bridge's condition.
"The Centre allocated enough funds to the state for the bridge's maintenance. It is the responsibility of the state government to repair it timely. Just for the sake of blaming the Centre, the state government cannot shun their responsibilities," Nand Kishore said.
One team of IIT Roorkee is at present making the inspection of Gandhi Setu for feasibility of construction of the steel structure. The team had already said the pillar of Gandhi Setu is fit to replace the present superstructure with steel girder.
Gandhi Setu is the only functional bridge in India which has been built using the pre-stressing technology.
