A portion of a dam in Bhagalpur's Kahalgaon came down crashing hours before it was to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The dam built at an estimated cost of Rs 389.31 crore is part of the ambitious Gateshwar Panth Canal Project which was planned to improve the poor land irrigation system in the region.
Several low-lying areas were flooded as water from the collapsed dam rushed into residential areas in Kahalgaon.
"The dam broke due to release of water in full capacity. The incident has not caused any damage to the newly constructed part of the project," Minister of Water Resources, Lallan Singh said.
CM Nitish Kumar, who was supposed to inaugurate the project today, had to cancel his visit.