Corruption, substandard construction to blame for Gambhira bridge collapse that killed 15 in Gujarat?

At least 15 people died early Wednesday morning, when a portion of the Gambhira bridge near Mujpur village in Vadodara’s Padra taluka collapsed, sending a truck and a Bolero SUV plunging into the Mahi River.

The bridge, originally built in 1985, had undergone repairs last year. Despite this, it gave way under routine traffic, raising questions about public infrastructure quality in Gujarat, which has seen at least 21 bridge collapses since 2014.  

New bridge had already been cleared in 2024

According to the state’s Roads and Buildings Department, a proposal to construct a new bridge at a cost of ₹212 crore received in-principle approval in November 2024, citing heavy traffic on the existing structure.

Officials claimed there were no formal reports marking the bridge as dangerous or structurally unsound. Executive Engineer NM Naykawala told the media that the bridge was considered “trafficable” and had been repaired in 2023.

Blacklisted contractors back in circulation—who pays the cost?

Local Gujarati media reports reveal that the contractor responsible for the original bridge was blacklisted during the COVID-19 period, yet continued to receive work orders.

This points to a deeper pattern in Gujarat’s infrastructure contracts: companies with poor records being awarded fresh tenders, allegedly due to political and bureaucratic links.

Contractors themselves have admitted, often anonymously, that the system leaves little room for quality construction. With politicians and babus allegedly taking a cut of project budgets, safety becomes secondary to profit.

‘Zero tolerance’ talk fails to match action

Just days before the collapse, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had advised sarpanches that corruption would not be tolerated. But critics say such statements rarely translate into accountability.

From the Morbi suspension bridge tragedy to the Rajkot TRP game zone fire, the pattern is familiar: public outrage, official damage control, and then silence.

Despite these repeated failures, the ruling BJP continues to win elections with significant margins—fuelling a perception that the government faces little pressure to prioritise transparency or safety.

Rescue efforts still ongoing; compensation announced

As of Thursday afternoon, the death toll had climbed to 15, with three people still missing. Rescue teams from the NDRF and SDRF are continuing operations along a 4-km stretch of the Mahisagar River, hampered by rising water levels.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ₹2 lakh compensation from the PM’s National Relief Fund for the families of the deceased, while Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel declared ₹4 lakh for each bereaved family and ₹50,000 for the injured.

Recurring disasters, no systemic fix

The Padra collapse has once again laid bare the cracks in Gujarat’s infrastructure model. Poor vetting of contractors, opaque tender processes, and a lack of long-term planning have turned bridges and public works into hazards.

How many more such disasters will it take before the state enforces meaningful oversight? Whatever the answer may be, it will come too late for the families of the 15 who died on Wednesday.

Bridge collapses in Gujarat