Gujarat to Bihar to Pune, India's bridges are collapsing. Cutting corners on safety
'I was screaming for help. There were seven passengers in our van. We left at 6.30 am and reached the bridge around 7. When we were crossing, a portion collapsed, causing many vehicles to fall into the river,' said Padhiyar.
New Delhi: Thirty-five-year-old Sonal Padhiyar set out from Vadodara early Thursday morning with her husband and two young children to visit a temple in Bagdana, Bhavnagar. Just a few kilometres into the 280 km journey, the trip came to a horrific end. The Gambhira bridge collapsed, and their van plunged into the Mahisagar river, killing her four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son.
The Gambhira bridge is only the latest in a series of such incidents. India's bridges have been collapsing for years, pointing to a larger problem plaguing our infrastructure projects. Lack of safety measures and widespread corruption in public works contracts, especially in local civic projects, is rampant. This neglect is costing innocent lives. India can't call itself a future economic superpower without getting its basic civic infrastructure right. And that is why the recent bridge collapses are ThePrint Newsmaker of the Week.
In June this year, a 30-year-old bridge collapsed in Pune, killing four people. In Bihar last year, 10 bridges collapsed within just over two weeks. Several of these bridges fell before they were even inaugurated, raising serious questions about the quality of materials used and the role of contractors. Many have alleged that tenders are won through bribes.
On 9 July, as the Gambhira bridge gave way, a van, a tanker, an autorickshaw, and multiple two-wheelers were swept into the river. Among the dead were two children, their father, a man on his way to work, and an entire family headed to the temple. Sonalben Padhiyar was the only survivor.
The Gujarat government has declared it a tragedy and initiated the investigation, but this too is part of the same cycle: warnings get ignored, tragedy strikes, an inquiry is ordered, sometimes compensation is announced. Then there's silence—until the next collapse.
The Gambhira bridge was built in 1985. Letters of warning about cracks and corroded slabs had been sent to the Roads & Buildings Department as early as 2021. In 2022, the bridge had reportedly been deemed unfit for use, but not even a warning was sent out to the residents.
Every day, people crossed the bridge, unaware of the danger that lay beneath their feet
In Gujarat's Morbi bridge collapse, around 135 people had lost their lives. That was nearly three years ago. And yet, here we are again.
Also Read: 4 dead, 32 injured in bridge collapse over Indrayani River near Pune, 10-15 people feared swept away
Safety and infrastructure
The Modi government has been heavily promoting its 'Viksit Bharat' vision. From expressways to metros, from Setu Bharatam to PM Gati Shakti, India has seen a massive infrastructure push. Mega projects like the Chenab bridge and marquee freight corridors are underway, but the foundation beneath it all is crumbling.
A survey by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2017 reported that over 6,500 bridges on national highways were in a 'distressed' condition, with 20 bridges over a century old being decommissioned as an urgent priority.
'Visual as well as equipment-based periodical inspection, evaluation and monitoring has been mandated for NHs, including bridges, to ensure that structural integrity of various components…is maintained through timely repair/rehabilitation intervention,' the ministry said in a Lok Sabha reply last November.
But the care and maintenance for such infrastructure still faces neglect. At the local level, it's either a paucity of funds or a lack of urgency. Accountability in the tendering process is weak, and private contractors have created a dangerous ecosystem of cutting costs for more profits.
In many cases, contracts are not given on the merit of the contractor but on the basis of political connections or under-the-table payments. Many evade the burden of following safety protocols and facing audits by paying bribes.
Safety certificates are manipulated, mandatory site inspections and load tests are also often rigged.
India is building time bombs and the system appears to be designed to reward speed and cost-cutting, not safety.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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For it to succeed, we'll need additional support, training, and infrastructure. There's also a risk that well-resourced schools may cope more easily, widening the gap with others, unless the system is made more equitable,' she told ThePrint. NEP in colleges & universities NEP 2020 envisions flexible undergraduate programmes of up to four years, offering multiple entry and exit options. In 2021, the University Grants Commission (UGC), India's higher education regulator, issued guidelines to operationalise this model, under which, students can exit after one year with a certificate, after two years with a diploma, three years with a degree, or four years with a degree with honours and research. The policy recommended a one-year masters programme after a four-year degree, and discontinued the MPhil degree. To support this structure, UGC launched the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) in 2021 on the first anniversary of NEP 2020. The ABC serves as a digital repository that records and tracks the academic credits earned by students across institutions. Additionally, the UGC introduced the National Credit Framework (NCrF), which allows the 'creditisation' of all forms of learning—formal and informal—based on proper assessment. This means students can earn academic credits not just through classroom instruction, but also through laboratory work, online courses, innovation labs, sports, yoga, physical activities, performing arts, and more. Former UGC chairperson M. Jagadesh Kumar said that prior to NEP 2020, India's education system was rigid and compartmentalised, but now it is being reoriented to promote student mobility, digital integration and academic flexibility. 'With the introduction of mechanisms, like ABC and NCrF, students can enter and exit their educational journey without losing prior learning. This signals to students that education is a continuum, not a closed door. The new four-year undergraduate framework now accommodates research, vocational skills, flexibility, and clearly defined exit options,' he told ThePrint. More than 200 higher education institutions have adopted the four-year programme so far. However, several institutions, including the University of Delhi (DU), are facing major infrastructural challenges as they prepare to welcome the first batch of fourth-year students on 1 August. A.K. Bhagi, president of DU Teachers' Association (DUTA), said that the majority of the university colleges are struggling to accommodate an additional batch of students. 'Colleges need extra infrastructure, more teachers, and financial support to upgrade their facilities. Otherwise, this smooth transition is not possible,' he said. Common entrance exam NEP 2020 envisioned a common entrance exam to replace the multiple, separate tests conducted by individual universities—aiming to significantly reduce the burden on students, institutions and the overall education system. The UGC introduced the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions in 2022. The test, conducted in online format by the National Testing Agency (NTA), completely overhauled the admission process for universities, even as there were several infrastructural challenges in its initial year, with multiple sessions being cancelled due to technical and digital issues. According to former UGC chairperson Kumar, while CUET initially challenged existing inequities, it quickly created a more level playing field. 'For the first time, students from tribal districts, rural schools, and non-elite urban institutions could access the same admission process as those from historically privileged systems,' he said. 'CUET is creating a fairer starting line for students from diverse backgrounds by disrupting the old pattern of exclusion based on inconsistent marking systems.' The introduction of CUET has received mixed reactions, with some DU faculty members claiming that it has led to vacant seats. Naveen Gaur, associate professor of Physics at Dyal Singh College, said that his college has 2,200 sanctioned seats for third-year admissions, but only around 1,600 students enrolled. 'In the second year, the gap is around 20 percent. A centralised single test system doesn't work for all colleges. It benefits elite institutions and popular courses. For less sought-after courses, students often don't apply through such centralised tests.' Also Read: After 'sugar boards', CBSE asks schools to display 'oil boards' to promote healthy eating among students 'Dilution of courses' A section of teachers has alleged that the changes in course structures and curriculum under NEP 2020 have diluted the 'core papers'. Several universities have introduced short term credit-based Value Added Courses (VACs) to promote multidisciplinary learning and provide students with skills beyond their core academic subjects. DU offers a variety of VACs, including Ayurveda and Nutrition, Yoga, Fit India, Vedic Mathematics, and courses on the Bhagavad Gita. Gaur said that the time devoted to core papers has not been adjusted to accommodate these generic courses. 'The VACs are not useful at all. They're just weakening the students' academic foundation.' Teachers at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have raised similar concerns. 'They (VACs) offer no additional value to students within their core disciplines,' said Moushumi Basu, an associate professor. The university has introduced VACs in subjects like Yoga and Wellness, Indian Knowledge Systems, Thinking in Sanskrit, and Environmental Science, among others. Under the policy, students who complete a four-year undergraduate degree with research with 7.5 CGPA are eligible for direct admission into PhD programmes, without requiring a master's degree. Tanvir Aeijaz, associate professor of Political Science at DU's Ramjas College, said the removal of the traditional academic pathway—two years of Masters and two years of MPhil—will weaken the foundation for PhD students. 'The kind of depth and specialisation that came with a two-year Masters programme is simply missing in the new four-year undergraduate degree. Earlier, students were rigorously trained in core and elective areas, followed by a dissertation in MPhil that prepared them for serious research. Without that, we're going to see a dilution in the quality of PhDs,' he said. But ex-UGC Chairperson Kumar said that the four-year honours programme preserves the depth of a major discipline through advanced coursework and research, while also allowing students to engage with knowledge beyond their core field. Internationalisation of India's education system The government has also taken several initiatives to internationalise the country's education system, in line with NEP 2020's recommendation to promote India as a global academic destination, and restore its role as a 'Vishwa Guru', encouraging high-performing Indian universities to set up campuses abroad, and inviting selected top global universities to operate in India. IIT Madras launched its Zanzibar campus in 2023. IIT Delhi has set up a campus in Abu Dhabi, and IIM Ahmedabad is expanding to Dubai. Following the recommendations, in November 2023, the UGC (Setting up and Operation of Campuses of Foreign Higher Educational Institutions in India) Regulations were notified, allowing the top 500 universities worldwide to apply to set up campuses in India, and launching a dedicated portal for this purpose. Last year, UK's University of Southampton became the first university to receive UGC's approval, and is now setting up a campus in Gurugram. The University of Liverpool has also received the nod for a campus in Bengaluru. Two Australian universities also set up their campuses in GIFT City, Gujarat, in accordance with International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) regulations. Besides, the UGC's joint, dual, and twinning degree regulation has also helped over a hundred Indian institutions collaborate with foreign universities to create mutually recognised programmes, where a student could spend some time in India and the rest abroad. 'With internationalisation, there are many tangible benefits for Indian students, such as cost-effective global exposure, credit mobility and flexibility, diverse learning ecology and global credentials without moving out of India,' former UGC chairperson Kumar said. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: Centre's school education assessment flags learning gaps—Maths least favourite, govt schools lag behind
