Patna, Apr 15 (PTI) The opposition Congress in Bihar on Tuesday demanded a judicial inquiry into the alleged cracks that emerged in the newly opened segment of Patna’s JP Ganga Path, a key road, and the collapse of a number of bridges.

The party said that the investigation should be carried out by a sitting judge of the Patna High Court.

“Bridges are not being built in Bihar; the foundation of corruption is being laid. The state witnessed the collapse of a dozen bridges, big and small, in various districts in 2024,” Congress Legislature Party leader Shakil Ahmed Khan told a press conference.

The news of bridges crashing made headlines not only in the state but in the entire country, he asserted.

“A judicial inquiry into the cracks that emerged in a segment of Patna’s JP Ganga Path days after it was inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and construction of other bridges by a sitting judge of the Patna High Court must be ordered by the state government,” Khan said.

There is a long list of bridges that have collapsed in Bihar, which is enough to signal that the maintenance of bridges during the NDA rule in the state is only paper, he claimed and alleged that the double engine government in Bihar has failed on all fronts.

Cracks in Patna’s JP Ganga Path is enough to prove how corruption is rampant in the state and how officials are indulging in corrupt practices in connivance with the contractors, he claimed.

“A judicial inquiry is urgently needed,” said the Congress leader.

It may be recalled that days after the CM inaugurated the latest section of Patna’s JP Ganga Path on April 10, the newly opened section allegedly developed cracks near pillar A-3 towards Didarganj.

When the videos of cracks went viral on social media , Bihar Road Construction Minister Nitin Nabin and the Bihar State Road Development Corporation Limited (BSRDCL) clarified that the reported issues are “not structural cracks but gaps in expansion joints”.

“This gap is typically sealed with filler, which was dislodged. It has now been refilled. There is no danger to the bridge,”, BSRDCL Managing Director Shirsat Kapil Ashok told reporters. PTI PKD NN