Patna, Nov. 24: Gandhi Setu, the lifeline that connects north Bihar districts with Patna, might be closed any day.

“Gandhi Setu is on ventilator. The 34th and 35th pillars of the bridge have tilted, leading to gaps in its superstructure. Hence, we may be forced to close the bridge any day,” road construction minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh said.

“In layman’s language, we can say that with a tilted pillar there is the danger of the superstructure caving in anytime,” a senior engineer in the road construction department told The Telegraph.

Built in 1982, the 5.575-km-long bridge is already being used in a limited manner because of ongoing repair work on its western flank, between the 43rd and 46th pillars. There are altogether 47 pillars.

The bridge’s closure would force commuters, coming from north Bihar to Patna or vice versa, to take a circuitous route. Through the Gandhi Setu route, Hajipur is just 20km across the bridge. Its closure would force commuters to take the Rajendra bridge near Mokama, 100km east of Patna, to cross the river Ganga, and then travel 120km to reach Muzaffarpur and another 55km to reach Hajipur.

Bihar government put the onus of the bridge’s likely closure on the Centre. “Union minister Nitin Gadkari had assured us that the Centre would repair the bridge. But, he did nothing,” Ranjan said.