Patna Jul 4 (IANS): After frequent incidents of bridge collapse in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday directed the Rural Works Department to develop a maintenance policy aligned with the Road Construction Department's standards to improve infrastructure safety and longevity.

The Chief Minister asked the officials of the departments to prepare Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for regular bridge inspections.

Vigilance, continuous monitoring, and strict accountability measures for maintaining roads and bridges are required for public safety, he said.

"I have directed the officials to visit the sites to assess the condition of old bridges and take prompt maintenance actions to prevent infrastructure failures," he said.

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav criticised the state government over frequent bridge collapses.

Yadav pointed out that a bridge collapsed on Thursday morning and five bridges collapsed on July 3.

Twelve bridges have collapsed since June 18 in the state, he said.

Taking a dig, Yadav said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar are silent and speechless about these 'achievements'. They are thinking about how to convert this auspicious corruption into the 'jungle raj'?"