A major disaster was narrowly avoided in Sasaram, Bihar, on Friday when a crucial upper station and its supporting tower of an under-construction ropeway collapsed during trial operations. The incident, which saw four cabins and pillars crash to the ground, occurred at the site linking Rohtas Nagar Panchayat with Rohiteshwar Dham in the historic Rohtasgarh fort area of the Kaimur hills.
Timely Escape and Immediate Aftermath
Alert workers and technicians present at the site managed to escape just in time, preventing any loss of life. The collapse immediately triggered panic among local residents, who rushed to the spot upon hearing the news. The atmosphere was thick with disappointment and anger, with people openly questioning the safety standards and construction quality of the much-awaited project.
Acting swiftly, the director of the Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Ltd (BRPNNL) constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by its chairman. The committee has been directed to submit its findings within 24 hours. In a significant move, the director also ordered a comprehensive design and quality audit of the entire project to be conducted by a team of experts from IIT Patna.
Public Outcry and Safety Concerns
Local residents expressed deep-seated fears regarding the structural integrity of the ropeway. Many pointed out that if a tower could not withstand the load of just four empty cabins during a trial, it raised alarming doubts about its ability to safely carry passengers when fully operational with twelve cabins. The incident was widely described by the community as a severe breach of public trust.
Former mukhiya Santosh Kumar Bhola called the event extremely unfortunate for Rohtas Nagar Panchayat and demanded a high-level probe into the construction quality. He emphasized that accountability must be fixed and the guilty must not be spared, highlighting that the region had narrowly escaped a major tragedy.
Criticism also centered on alleged lax supervision. Locals claimed that despite the project's scale and importance, no senior officials were regularly seen monitoring the work on-site, allowing the executing company to function arbitrarily, which ultimately led to the collapse.
Official Explanation and Project Background
Senior BRPNNL engineer Khurshid Karim explained that trial and testing were underway when the collapse happened. He stated that while the load was being incrementally increased, a wire got stuck, leading to the structural failure. Karim added that several project components were still pending and were being executed in phases.
He assured the public that the ropeway would not be opened for commercial operations until all trial runs were completed to full satisfaction. Any necessary reconstruction would be carried out at the company's own expense. A technical team from Kolkata is scheduled to visit the site to assess the damage and recommend corrective measures for the project's safe completion.
The foundation stone for this 1,300-metre-long ropeway, estimated to cost Rs 13 crore, was laid on February 12, 2020. Sanctioned by the state government, the project aims to provide easier access for tourists and devotees to the Rohtasgarh Fort and nearby temples. Despite six years having passed, the project remains incomplete, with the company recently being given a final deadline of December 31, 2025, to finish the work.
This incident has revived serious concerns about infrastructure safety in the region, coming close on the heels of a similar mishap in January 2025 when the construction of a bridge over the Sone river, connecting Bihar and Jharkhand, was suspended after its pillars collapsed.
