India has close to 150 bridges that can collapse anytime, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Parliament on Thursday, August 3.
The data has come forth following a survey that took a long hard look at more than 1.6 lakh bridges across the country — an effort that set the exchequer back by Rs 69 crore.
Many of these are railway bridges and culverts, which has raised fear of accidents like the one that occurred just about a year ago in Maharashtra, resulting in several deaths.
What Gadkari said
In a written reply to questions posed by several Members of Parliament, Gadkari said in the Lok Sabha that his ministry had "launched the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS) to carry out the inspection and inventory of bridges along with crossing structures like tunnels on National Highways across the country."
He added that the ministry had "carried out inventory and condition survey for 1,62,022 bridges including 1,26,233 culverts" till July 21.
And then he delivered the bad news. "Based on the visual inspection data, 147 distress bridges have been identified on National Highways across the country."
Where is the threat?
Bridges across flowing water bodies — like rivers and streams — are especially vulnerable during the ongoing monsoon season in India, when a higher volume of flowing water may result in their collapse.
Even otherwise, bridges are soft targets for anti-social elements — mostly Maoists — who often blow them up in what they think is their way of sticking it to the government.
That is possibly why the repair-work of the bridges has already been ordered. "Concerned executive agencies (like state PWDs, NHAI, NHIDCL) have already been asked to undertake repairs, rehabilitation and reconstruction of all such bridges after detailed condition survey," Gadkari told the Lok Sabha.
Even otherwise, the Centrally-sponsored Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism(LWE) Affected Areas is looking to boost road infrastructure in 44 districts across nine states.
"Under the project, construction/up-gradation of 5,411.81 km road and 126 bridges/cross-drainage works will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 11,724.53 crore," Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir had told the Lok Sabha on July 18.
