Bystanders near the 98m-long under-construction bridge that caved in over the tributary of Bagmati and Lakhandei rivers in Muzaffarpur district on Saturday. The bridge, a brainchild of Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam (BRPNN), would link over 1 lakh people in 15 panchayat areas that get cut off from the district headquarters during monsoon. The Rs 7-crore project on the Katra-Kevatsa route in Aurai block is being carried out with help from Nabard. The cave-in happened after a middle pillar of the bridge collapsed on Friday evening after construction workers had left for the day. “The bridge collapsed after its middle pier gave way. Our chief engineer has gone to the spot to probe the incident. We will be able to say what had happened only after he submits his report,” BRPNN chairman Sridhar C said. He said pressure from the water might have caused the cave-in. Work began in February and the deadline is August 2015, but the contractor was trying to finish it in advance. BRPNN Muzaffarpur project engineer B.K. Singh said: “We suspect a surge of water from different routes hit the pillar, resulting in the cave-in.” Text by PTI, picture by Lokesh Bihari