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A day after an under-construction bridge over the Ganga river collapsed in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said that 'it should have been stronger'. Speaking to reporters, Nitish said that the bridge is not being 'constructed correctly' which is why it is collapsing over and over again. A portion of the bridge, which was supposed to connect Bihar's Khagaria district with Bhagalpur, earlier collapsed on April 30 last year.

"I have instructed officials to take strict action," Nitish Kumar said.

Should railway ministers resign over train accidents? Politics has erupted over this question with government officials citing the dedication of rail minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in camping on the accident site over the past 30 hours, while opposition leaders are asking for his resignation.

Let us look at the facts first. Earlier, too, rail ministers have witnessed big accidents with heavy casualties in their terms. When Nitish Kumar, for example, was the minister for railways for two terms in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government, a total of 1,527 deaths were recorded as a result of 1,079 accidents (both collisions and derailments) as per ministry data.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday appealed to the people of violence-hit Manipur to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur NH-2 Highway so that a swift movement of food, medicines and other essentials is ensured. 

"My sincerest appeal to the people of Manipur is to lift the blockades at the Imphal-Dimapur, NH-2 Highway, so that food, medicines, Petrol/Diesel, and other necessary items can reach the people," wrote the union home minister on his social media handle.

Amit Shah also urged civil society organisations to facilitate bringing consensus on the matter.

The Sultanganj Agwani bridge, which was under-construction in Bihar’s Bhagalpur, collapsed on Sunday evening. This is the second time the bride, which was being built on the Ganga river at the cost of Rs 1,710 crores, has collapsed.

A purported video of the collapse, recorded by locals shows a part of bridge falling down into the river, and a massive cloud of smoke rising up after it.

Till now, no casualty has been reported.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the defeat -- in the upcoming session in Rajya Sabha -- of the Union government’s bill to replace an ordinance that nullified the Supreme Court order and “takes away all the powers of the elected government in Delhi” with regard to transfers and disciplinary proceedings of officers would send out a strong message that the entire opposition has come together.

“And maybe, (in) 2024, the Modi government is not going to come back,” Kejriwal told reporters, emerging from a meeting with Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin in Chennai.