Xinhua News Agency
NEW DELHI — Scrap metal thieves in the eastern Indian state of Bihar stole an abandoned 60-feet steel bridge, officials said Saturday.
The bridge, reportedly weighing 500 tonnes, was stolen from Amiyawar village in Rohtas district, about 119 km southwest of Patna, the capital city of Bihar.
According to locals, heavy machines and gas cutters were used to chip off the steel frame of the bridge. Following the dismantling of the structure, the scrap was loaded onto vehicles.
Arshad Kamal Shamshi, a junior engineer with the local irrigation department told the media that the thieves were pretending as mechanical department officials as villagers reported.
According to Shamshi, his department has filed a case with the police over the theft.
Reports said the dilapidated bridge was built on the Ara Canal in 1972 and villagers had stopped using it after a parallel concrete bridge was thrown open five years ago.-gb
