The plea has sought urgent action since several under-construction and existing bridges have collapsed in Bihar in the last two years, leading to loss of lives and significant financial damage to the public exchequer.
Consecutive collapse of bridges in Bihar clearly indicate that no lessons have been learned and safety of critical infrastructure like bridges is not being taken seriously, the plea said.
These routine incidents cannot be termed merely as accidents and are man-made disasters, it added
The petition underlined that 73.06% of the total geographical area of the State is flood-prone and therefore routine collapse of bridges leaves a lot of lives at stake.
It also cited the apex court’s decision in Chameli Singh v State of UP which held that right to shelter includes adequate living space, safe and decent structure, clean and decent surroundings, sufficient light, pure air and water, electricity, sanitation and other civic amenities like roads etc. so as to have easy access to his daily avocation.
Source: Barandbench
