Collapsed Vadodara bridge was a disaster-in-waiting: What such recurring mishaps in Gujarat tell

India Today

09-07-2025

Imagine you are driving on a bridge over a river and just like that, it breaks apart in the middle and vehicles fall into the water hundreds of feet below. Ten people died on the morning of July 9 when the Gambhira bridge near Padra, a vital km-long lifeline connecting Vadodara and Anand districts over Gujarat's Mahisagar river, crumbled under the weight of neglect.Around 7:30 am, a 10-15-metre-long concrete slab of the bridge, between two of its 23 piers, gave way during peak traffic, sending three trucks, two utility vans, a rickshaw, one pickup van and two motorbikes plunging into the river. An oil tanker hung precariously at the collapsed bridge end, just about averting a fall.advertisementThe tragedy left five people injured and reignited concern and allegations about the state of crumbling infrastructure and systemic governance failures in Gujarat.The bridge, inaugurated in 1985, was a critical artery linking central Gujarat to Saurashtra, facilitating the movement of goods and commuters. Local people had long sounded alarm about its deteriorating condition, reporting vibrations when vehicles crossed and visible structural decay.
Local media spoke to fisherman Narendra Mali, working near the bridge on the morning of the collapse. He described a chilling scene: a loud cracking noise followed by vehicles plummeting one after another into the Mahisagar. 'We turned our boats towards the vehicles and started efforts to rescue people,' Mali recounted. But most passengers could not be saved.Rescue operations were swift but harrowing. More than 20 fire personnel, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and another from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), two fire boats, three fire tenders, more than 10 ambulances and over five medical teams reached the site for relief and rescue. They used boats and divers to pull survivors from the wreckages.Cranes were deployed to retrieve submerged vehicles while authorities cordoned off the area to prevent further accidents. Vadodara collector Anil Dhameliya confirmed nine bodies had been recovered. One of the injured died within a few hours, taking the toll to 10. The collapse sparked sharp criticism from leaders of Opposition parties, who pointed to systemic neglect and corruption. Amit Chavda, who is the leader of the Congress legislative party in Gujarat, demanded accountability. 'We had demanded from the government [in 2017] that the bridge be closed to heavy vehicles due to its deteriorating condition,' he charged on social media.The Congress, in a broader statement, described the incident as a reflection of 'corruption and decay behind the Gujarat Model', alleging rampant mismanagement in infrastructure projects. Despite warnings from local people and past demands from the Congress to restrict heavy vehicles, the bridge remained operational without significant upgrades.The BJP government's claim of periodic maintenance, as stated by health minister Rushikesh Patel, rings hollow against residents' accounts of ignored pleas.Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal demanded answers from the BJP. 'Will the BJP, which has been in power in Gujarat for the last 30 years, explain how such shoddy and life-threatening bridges keep getting built in Gujarat, which collapse so easily? The common people have to pay the price of this negligence and corruption, protected by those in power, with their lives,' he posted on social media.advertisementGujarat has had a troubling history of bridge failures, underscoring a pattern of inadequate maintenance and oversight. The collapse of the Morbi pedestrian bridge on October 30, 2022, a month before assembly elections, had killed 135 people and injured 56. The bridge, renovated by clock-making firm Orpat, had reopened without a clearance certificate from the local authorities, which had raised serious allegations about corruption and government oversight. The Gujarat government's response—prompt rescue and compensation—however lacked a clear commitment to systemic reform.In October 2023, two people died when a section of an under-construction railway overbridge collapsed in Palanpur town in Banaskantha district. In June 2023, a portion of a ready-to-inaugurate bridge over Mindhola river in Tapi district in south Gujarat collapsed, reporting no loss of life but sending shockwaves as it was to open for vehicular traffic soon.In September that year, one person was killed and at least a dozen others were injured after a concrete slab that covered a drain channel caved in when a crowd had gathered for darshan at a Ganesh pandal nearby. Twenty people fell into the drain. The incident created a scare in the city during festive season.advertisementLast August, a bridge over the Bhogavo river collapsed, and in November, a temporary structure at the bullet train project site in Anand collapsed, killing two people. Incidents like these collapses with fewer deaths should act as a stern wake-up call of the close shave and the catastrophe that could have been. Even as investigations and cases drag on in courts, administrative accountability is not fixed. Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch