In recent months, several bridges across the States have collapsed. The most recent occurred in Gujarat where many people were killed and several injured after the collapse of the Gambhira bridge over the Mahisagar river in Vadodara district. The incident reverberates the calamities of the 2022 Morbi bridge collapse that killed 141 and other bridge failures in 2025, highlighting a deeply worrying trend of aging infrastructure, lax maintenance, ignored warnings, and fractured accountability. In this scenario, Goa is yet to complete its planned condition survey of the major and minor bridges across the state. It’s easy for the authorities to hold extreme weather events responsible for the damage or wear and tear, but officials and contractors should be held accountable. Any compromise on construction, inspection or repair is a recipe for disaster. Gujarat must get its act together before more lives are snuffed out. Other States can afford to be complacent, but only at their own risk. The Centre must realise that immediate course correction is no less important than long-term ambitions.
