Month after Gambhira bridge collapse, locals demand pontoon bridge

Time of India

4 days ago

Vadodara: Pointing to the pontoon bridges set up for the Kumbh Mela — village heads and district panchayat members on Monday urged the state govt to establish an alternative means for commuters to cross the Mahi river.
This comes a month after the Gambhira bridge collapsed on July 9, killing 22 people.
The Gambhira bridge over the Mahi not only linked Central Gujarat to Saurashtra but was also the shortest crossing route for those living in the border villages of Anand and Vadodara districts.
After the bridge collapse, scores of students, factory workers and labourers began crossing the river on small, rowed fishing boats, to avoid a detour of at least 45km.
However, all boating was later stopped, following directives from the Anand district collector, who cited the new boating rules. These were framed by the state govt after the Harni boat capsize in Vadodara on Jan 18, 2024, which killed 12 schoolchildren and two teachers, during a picnic.
"Ever since the bridge collapse, thousands of students from Padra and Jambusar talukas of Vadodara district are having trouble getting to their schools and colleges in the university town of Vallabh Vidyanagar in Anand district," said Harshadsinh Parmar, a member of the Vadodara district panchayat, from Mujpur village, which is on the Vadodara side of the Gambhira bridge.
"Thousands of youth, especially residents of villages in Borsad and Anklav talukas of Anand district, who work at factories in Vadodara's Padra taluka, are struggling to get to their workplaces. Even transporting vegetables from Padra, a major vegetable-producing area, to Anand and other parts of Central Gujarat has become a daunting task. If no alternative route is created, the economy of Central Gujarat will suffer," said Parmar.
Parmar, along with district and taluka panchayat members from Anand and Anklav, along with the sarpanches of Bamangam and Gambhira villages, made representations to both the Anand and Vadodara district collectors, demanding an alternative bridge.
"The Gujarat govt announced that a new bridge, parallel to the one that collapsed, will be built within 18 months. However, there is no progress on this front so far," said Nilesh Parmar, a member of the Anklav taluka panchayat.
"Until a permanent solution is in place, there must be an alternative for people to commute. During the Kumbh Mela, the UP govt facilitated crossings by millions of pilgrims and their vehicles using pontoon bridges. Such temporary bridges have been erected in Bihar too. If other states can erect temporary bridges, the Gujarat govt can also create a crossing, at least for two-wheelers and cars, so that commuters don't lose work or see their studies suffer," Parmar added.
After the Gambhira bridge collapsed, the Umeta bridge between Anand and Vadodara, was closed to heavy vehicles. Heavy vehicles are now re-routed via Vasad, where commuters face hardships due to regular traffic jams and potholed roads.
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