Patna, Sep 23 (IANS): Amid heavy rains for the past couple of days, a bridge caved in in Bihar’s Jamui district on Saturday.

The bridge constructed over Barnar river was the main communication link for over two lakh of villagers of Sono and Churhet Kajwe blocks. It was the only bridge connecting these two places, and the villagers of over 25 villages will be affect due to its collapse.

The district administration claimed that around six pillars have caved in, and extensive sand mining in the region is the prime reason behind this.

Following the incident, Rajesh Kumar, the Circle Officer of Sono block, and SHO Chitranjan Kumar went to the spot and alerted the people. The district administration has blocked traffic movement on the bridge besides using loud speakers to appeal to people to stay away from the affected area.

Claimed that sand mining is rampant on Barnar river, the locals said the miscreants even dug sand near the bridge which weakened its pillars. Continuous rains for the last two days only added to the trouble.