Bridges to Nowhere

In PM Modi’s home state of Gujarat, infrastructure collapses continue to be met with condolences, but its government refuses to rise to the occasion.

Gujarat

Another day, another bridge collapse in Gujarat. This time it was the Gambhira bridge—an arterial link between Central Gujarat and Saurashtra—that gave way without warning, sending three vehicles plummeting into the Mahisagar river. At least 13 people have died.

The bridge, built in 1985, had been crying out for help. Engineers, local leaders and residents had flagged its dangerous condition for years. A letter in 2021 warned of “unusual vibrations” while slabs were separating so visibly that one could see the river below. And yet, as with many such warnings in India, the file likely gathered dust. Cosmetic surface repairs were conducted, and the trucks kept rolling over a ticking time bomb until that bomb exploded.

The Gujarat government, led by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who also holds the Roads & Buildings portfolio, was hardly blindsided. A Rs. 212 crore replacement bridge had already been approved three months ago. But no urgency followed. Instead, the state chose to gamble with the lives of commuters.

The collapse of the Gambhira bridge is merely the latest addition to a gruesome litany of infrastructural failures in the state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi once governed and still touts as a model. In 2022, 135 people died when a 19th-century suspension bridge in Morbi collapsed days after reopening. The company responsible for its ‘renovation’ had neither structural expertise nor proper clearance. That did not stop the state from handing it the contract.

The pattern repeats with maddening regularity. In June 2023, a freshly inaugurated bridge in Surat developed cracks after the first spell of rain. In Palanpur, the girders of an under-construction highway bridge collapsed, crushing two people. In Valsad, parts of a yet-to-be-inaugurated overbridge broke off. In Tapi, a brand-new 100-metre bridge caved in entirely. Each time, a few engineers are suspended, the contractor is blacklisted, and the Chief Minister orders an inquiry that goes nowhere.

This is what governance by press release looks like. The Gujarat model, once lauded for administrative efficiency, now runs on the fumes of old slogans. Far from delivering on the promise of speed and scale, the BJP-led government is derailing under its own weight. Even Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress couldn’t resist a jab, posting a photo montage of the Vadodara and Morbi tragedies with the caption: “Double Engine. Double Disaster.”

It would be tempting to chalk these failures up to India’s broader infrastructural woes. But Gujarat’s failures stand out for their frequency, visibility and the absence of meaningful reform despite repeated loss of life. After the Morbi disaster, the state promised new policies and inspection frameworks. It even informed the High Court of measures to audit bridges under municipal control. And yet, just months later, Gambhira collapsed under a burden it was never built to carry.

The problem is structural, both literally and institutionally. Oversight is fragmented, auditing is perfunctory and political patronage allows discredited contractors to return through back doors. Even when blacklisted, companies often morph into new entities, aided by opaque procurement rules and bureaucratic complicity. Each time, the price is paid in corpses.

Prime Minister Modi, on a foreign tour, swiftly announced Rs 2 lakh for the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured. But condolences are no substitute for accountability. Nor can compensation wash away the state’s culpability.

What Gujarat needs is not more ribbon cuttings or grand announcements but ruthless reform. Bridge audits must be independent, public and mandatory. Contractor histories should be accessible to citizens and courts alike. Departments must be held legally accountable for ignoring red flags. Infrastructure is about maintaining what is built. And that requires political will, not photo-ops.

Until then, India’s bridges will continue to crumble. And with each collapse, another warning will go unheard until it is too late.