Rs 389 cr Bihar Dam crashed a day before Launch

Patna: Just before a day of its inaugural, a dam broke down at Bhagalpur on Wednesday.

Ganga pump canal project was supposed to be inaugurated by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The dam built at an estimated cost of Rs 389.31 crore is part of the Gateshwar Panth Canal Project which was planned to improve the poor land irrigation system in the region.

Several low-lying areas were flooded as water from the collapsed dam rushed into residential areas in Kahalgaon.

The wall of the dam broke up after being forcefully hit by the Ganga river waters when the pump was switched on for a trial run on Tuesday at Bateshwarsthan in Bhagalpur district.

The Rs 389.31 crore project, which was started in 1977 with a cost of Rs 13.88 cr, had been a story of neglect by successive governments.