Patna, Sept. 7: The Rajendra Bridge across river Ganga in Mokama, which was opened to the public after repairs in June, is about to be closed again as cracks have developed on it. The fallout for the commuters would be a harrowing time on Mahatma Gandhi Setu, which is already hit by regular traffic snarls.

Indian Railways had repaired the bridge when it was closed between January 27 and June 11 this year. Now, the railways has written a letter to the road construction department, giving details on cracks that have developed on the bridge.

East Central Railway, Danapur divisional railway manager, L.M. Jha has sent a letter to road construction department secretary Pratyay Amrit soliciting immediate repair of the bridge.

Jha told The Telegraph: “The bridge was closed from January 27 to June 11 because of damage caused by plying of heavy vehicles at high speed and improper expansion joints. Now, the bridge has again developed cracks and we will be forced to close it for the second time if repairs are not carried out in the next few months.

“If the situation deteriorates further, we will not ask the road construction department but close the bridge on our own. It is a serious matter and the bridge needs urgent repair. We have given the details to the department regarding to the faults for which the bridge should be closed to public use.” The closing to the bridge would lead to increased load on the Mahatma Gandhi Setu, which is already in a bad shape, and cause inconvenience to the public thanks to snarls on Gandhi setu and Bakhtiyarpur-Patna road.

Traffic snarls on the Gandhi Setu is a regular affair and a journey that should take no longer than a few minutes often becomes nothing less than a nightmare for the commuters.

Blaming the road construction department for the cracks on the Rajendra Bridge, Jha said: “The state government allows heavy vehicles carrying load up to 20 tonnes and even 40 tonnes on the Rajendra Bridge whereas we have set the limit at 10 tonnes. The police officers who are deputed at the bridge to check the weight and speed of the vehicles allow them to pass without any checks. They do not check for proper expansion joints even after repeated protest by the railway. Most of the time, the police officers take money and allow the vehicles to pass.”

He also said: “I have requested the department to immediately deploy police officers and install machines to check the weight and speed of the vehicles. I have also requested them to provide proper road expansion joints on a war footing, to avoid closing the bridge again.”

Jha blamed the state government for ignoring the railway’s suggestion and advice to the road construction department. He said: “I would like to say that the railway’s repeated technical advice were not given due cognisance by the department, resulting in new cracks in the bridge.”

The road construction department secretary, Amrit, refused to comment on the issue and said: “I have not received any such letter and it’s not possible for me to comment on it at present. I can say anything only when I go through the letter.”