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regular-article-logo Saturday, 12 July 2025

90-degree turns to 20 dead in Gujarat: Why India's bridges become breaking news

From Gujarat to Maharashtra, deaths, meme-worthy constructions keep readers glued to flyovers and bridges

Our Web Desk Published 11.07.25, 02:57 PM

TTO GRAPHICS

One by one, India’s bridges are falling...quite literally.

In Gujarat a decades-old bridge connecting Anand and Vadodara districts gave way without warning, sending several vehicles crashing into the river on Wednesday.

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At least 20 people died reportedly. Others barely made it out alive, pulled from the water by rescue teams as cranes tried to lift the submerged wreckage.

Prime minister Narendra Modi offered condolences. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel called for a technical inquiry. “I have directed the Roads and Buildings Department to conduct an immediate investigation,” Patel posted on social media, adding that a team of engineers had been sent to the site.

Officials suspect poor maintenance and the bridge’s 1985 vintage played a role.

An official cited its dilapidated condition and maintenance issues as probable causes.

Maharashtra mayhem

Just days before the Gujarat collapse, Maharashtra was dealing with its own infrastructure embarrassment.

The newly inaugurated Palava Bridge on Kalyan-Shil Road, built at a cost of Rs 40 crore, had to be shut within two hours of opening.

Viral videos showed potholes, washed-away gravel, muddy patches, and loose cement just hours after MLA Rajesh More and workers from the ruling Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) opened the bridge at a low-profile event on July 4.

“This bridge was built due to the efforts of MP Dr. Shrikant Shinde to relieve traffic on the Kalyan-Shil Road,” MLA More said. “The road had been temporarily shut due to slippery asphalt, but we immediately spread fine gravel.”

But the opposition was not buying it. Former MNS MLA Pramod Ratan Patil posted a video of the damage and commented, “The construction work of the Palava Bridge has been of extremely poor quality, and regarding this, I have demanded an inspection of the bridge's quality. What's this nonsense, Gandabhai?”

Palava Bridge was under construction for eight years and touted as a solution to chronic traffic issues.

Pune:

In Pune, Maharashtra, tragedy struck after a pedestrian bridge collapsed over the Indrayani River, killing at least two and injuring six others. Witnesses say a large group was crossing the bridge around 3:30 p.m. when it gave way.

The bridge, constructed 30 years ago for local farmers, had reportedly become a popular “selfie point.” Its maximum capacity was 4-5 people, but dozens of tourists and two-wheelers were on it at the time of the collapse. A work order for constructing a new bridge had been issued just five days earlier after years of complaints by locals.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said the National Disaster Response Force had been deployed, and rescue operations were underway.

Assam and Sikkim: Northeastern woes

In June, Assam’s Harang bridge on the Kalain-Silchar road collapsed, plunging two overloaded trucks into the river. While no fatalities were reported, the incident cut road links between Barak Valley and neighboring states... Tripura, Mizoram, and Manipur.

Cachar SSP Numal Mahatta confirmed that one truck likely hit a portion of the bridge during heavy rain, causing the collapse. “Action has been taken against three police personnel for allowing the trucks through the checkpoint,” he said.

In Sikkim, a series of June collapses blocked key roads. The Sankalang Bridge and the main feeding bridge to North Sikkim were shut due to damage, leaving parts of the state cut off. The electrical lab for the reconstruction of the Chungthang Dam Project had also been washed away during the October 2023 floods.

MP’s design disaster: The 90-degree turn

In Madhya Pradesh, public outrage surged over the “faulty design” of the new Aishbagh Rail Over Bridge (ROB) in Bhopal, built with an unusual 90-degree turn. CM Mohan Yadav responded by suspending seven engineers, including two chief engineers. “I took cognisance of the serious negligence in the construction... Action has been taken,” he posted on X.

The agency and design consultant were blacklisted. Meanwhile, a fresh row has emerged in Indore over another under-construction ROB. While PWD Minister Rakesh Singh defended the design, saying it followed Indian Road Congress standards, locals and MP Shankar Lalwani expressed serious concerns.

Lalwani said, “I told government officials to reduce this turn by changing the design... fears of accidents and traffic jams must be removed.”

Bridge department engineer Gurmeet Kaur Bhatia added that the design is being re-examined: “If there is any need for improvement, then it will be done.”

Bihar: Where Bridges appear mysteriously

In Bihar, the bridge crisis has taken stranger turns.

This year alone, two bridges collapsed in different districts...one over the Gandak river in Munger and another in Samastipur, part of the Bakhtiyarpur-Tajpur under-construction stretch. The first, known locally as the ‘Bichli Pul’, was built in 2012 under the CM Gramin Sadak Yojana and provided critical access to riverine communities. Its collapse cut off over 80,000 residents in Munger from Khagaria.

Meanwhile, in Samastipur, a section of another under-construction bridge collapsed near the Nandani Lagunia railway station. Both incidents caused major disruptions, but no official casualty count has been shared.

Last year, Bihar recorded 12 bridge collapses within just 20 days.

The pattern continued into 2025 with a bizarre twist: a 60-foot-long bridge sprang up over the Kari Kosi river near Purnea, built by “unknown people” with no official sanction. Locals claim the structure was a front for a land scam by property brokers hoping to market flood-prone land as developable plots by providing a makeshift “link.”

In response to repeated disasters, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s government announced last month that IIT Delhi and IIT Patna will audit 85 major bridges under the new Bihar State Bridge Maintenance Policy 2025, calling it the first such state-level framework for systematic upkeep.

India’s bridges, whether old, newly opened, under construction, or unofficial are failing. The reasons range from outdated structures, overloading, poor design, corruption, and negligence to unregulated “development” driven by real estate scams.

Each collapse not only costs lives and disrupts lives, but also raises the same unanswered question: how many more must fall before the country’s infrastructure is taken seriously?

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