Patna: A culvert built in 1980 on the road leading to Phulwaria Dam in Hardia panchayat of Nawada’s Rajauli block collapsed late on Friday night, disrupting transport, irrigation and drinking water supply in dozens of villages.Residents blamed overloaded vehicles engaged in construction work for the collapse. The road is the only link for several villages in the Phulwaria Dam area, and its closure has affected farming, education and access to hospitals.Local resident Jaiendra Yadav alias Jalo Yadav said trucks carrying iron, sand, cement and grit for construction work had been using the route unchecked for years, weakening the structure.Vinod Rajvanshi of New Singer village said, “Thankfully there was no loss of life, but movement of schoolchildren and villagers has been completely disrupted. People now have to take a 3-4km detour.”Birendra Kumar of Hardia said irrigation from the dam had come to a halt, leaving fields without water.Pankaj Kumar, a pump operator posted at Jindal, said the main pipeline supplying water from the dam runs alongside the culvert. Its collapse has disrupted the tap-water scheme under the multipurpose water project covering 90 villages, raising fears of a drinking water crisis.Executive engineer of the rural works department in Nawada Manoj Kumar said vehicles weighing more than 10 tonnes were barred from using rural roads. “The matter is being investigated and further action will be taken,” he said.Assistant engineer of the irrigation department, Nishant Singh, said the culvert wall was damaged when a vehicle crossed it on Friday night, causing the structure to collapse.He said the department would soon lay Hume pipes to restore irrigation temporarily.
