PURNEA, June 8 -- After 35 days, light vehicular traffic was restored on the Vikramshila Setu in Bhagalpur on Sunday with minister for road construction Kumar Shailendra crossing it first in his official vehicle. A 33-meter portion of the bridge over the Gangahad collapsed on May 4 and had been unusable since then. Vikramshila Setu is 6th longest bridge over water in India. The 4.4 km long two lane bridge serves as a link between NH 33 and NH 31. Expressing satisfaction over the early completion of the bridge's repair and its return to operation, the RCD minister thanked everyone who worked day and night since May 16 to restore the bridge for regulated traffic. "The promise made by us that it will be repaired and operational within the deadline has been fulfilled. The also thanked Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and the Border Road Organisation (BRO) for making the speedy repair of the bridge possible. Following the May 4 collapse, the BRO successfully constructed a temporary Bailey bridge over the damaged section, allowing regulated movement for two-wheelers, four-wheelers and light motor vehicles to cross. Officials said, "It will bring much relief to a large number of people," adding, "Traffic opened on Sunday following a successful safety trial and load test." Officials said that a daily one-hour block would be enforced everyday at night for maintenance and drone monitoring would be monitored to track structural integrity. Bhagalpur district magistrate (DM) Nawal Kishor Choudhary and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Pramod Kumar Yadav expressed confidence that the bridge would ease transportation difficulties. They said that strict traffic regulations would be strictly enforced. Chief minister (CM) Samrat Choudhary, who visited the site on May 31, had assured that the bridge would be fully restored by November 30 this year. On May 4, more than 33 metres of the RCC structure of Vikramshila Setu near pillar number 3, between the P2 and P3 spans had collapsed disrupting road connectivity between Bhagalpur and the Kosi- Seemanchal region of north Bihar....