HAILAKANDI |  An under-construction RCC bridge over the Berakhal river in Hailakandi district collapsed on Wednesday morning, triggering allegations of poor construction quality and inadequate supervision. The incident is the fourth reported bridge collapse in Assam’s Barak Valley this year.

The bridge, being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 3.6 crore at Mohanpur village under the Algapur-Katlicherra constituency, collapsed at around 7 am.

No casualties were reported in the incident.

Local residents blamed the contractor and alleged that substandard construction materials had been used at the site. One resident claimed that the sand, reinforcement rods and shuttering used in the project were of poor quality. “It’s because of the contractor’s apathy. The materials used for the construction, be it the sand and rods, are not suitable for construction. The shuttering is also of low quality,” the resident alleged.

Another resident claimed that complaints about the construction had earlier been brought to the attention of officials, including the site and departmental engineers, but no corrective action was taken. “The site engineer, departmental engineer and contractors did not pay heed to our complaints and hence we are faced with this situation today,” the resident alleged.

A video showing the bridge collapsing was recorded by locals and later circulated on social media. Residents said the bridge was expected to improve connectivity for thousands of daily commuters in the area. They alleged that repeated appeals to the authorities, including the SDO and departmental engineers, had failed to prevent the collapse.

Hailakandi MLA Milon Das said he had informed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma about the incident and that follow-up action would be taken.

“I have already informed the matter to the Chief Minister and follow-up action will be taken accordingly,” Das said. The collapse comes amid a series of similar incidents involving bridges in the Barak Valley this year.

In February, the Singla Bridge at Anipur in Sribhumi district collapsed completely. In May, an under-construction bridge on the Silchar-Kalain road in Borkhola also collapsed. Earlier this month, another bridge at Mokoibhanga on National Highway 8 in Sribhumi district collapsed.

The latest incident has renewed concerns over the quality of bridge construction, material use and monitoring of infrastructure projects across the Barak Valley.