A portion of a 60-foot-long bridge collapsed on Sunday after being cast at Panjan-Khara village in Sadar upazila of the district. 

The bridge is being built on the Dhaleshwari river at the village adjacent to Garpara Bangladesh Hat in Garpara union.

Project Implementation Office of the upazila is implementing the construction under the disaster management project at a cost of Tk 57 lakh.

Two contractors -- district Jubo League leader, also local Union Parishad Chairman, Abu Zafar, and upazila Awami League General Secretary Afsar Uddin Sarkar -- are working jointly under the construction firm M/S JJ Engineering and Construction.

Locals said the bridge broke suddenly around 12:30pm after completion of its casting. It collapsed due to use of poor quality bamboos and other materials in the cast, they alleged.

Afsar said the bridge is still under construction, adding that it collapsed because of the rain and slipperiness of the supporting bamboo pillars. No poor quality material was used, he said, adding that the loss could be around Tk 3 lakh.

Project Implementation Officer of the upazila Ambia Begum Shilpi said the accident happened due to the use of weak bamboos as support pillars in the cast.

A 5-member investigation committee headed by the upazila engineer has been formed, she added.