- Let me ask you a question here. What is the most heard comment from Indian citizens concerning any infrastructural developmental activities undertaken by the government authorities? Invariably, the answer will be unsatisfactory workmanship. You may term it cynicism, apprehension, lack of confidence, or for that matter, condescension, the majority opinion will be negative. Denigrating the work executed without laying the desired emphasis on the quality is bound to create a feeling of disappointment and a sense of foreboding. The authorities tasked to execute the works may not agree with what the citizens feel about the product, but it doesn’t matter simply because the quality or lack of it becomes evident sooner than later.
PC: Maggie Fyffe
- The bane of corruption in the country needs no further elaboration. So much so that we have come to accept corruption as an inalienable part of the routine. Nothing moves in the country without greasing the palms of the babus despite having everything in order. This sadly reflects the sorry state of affairs. As such, nothing shocks the collective conscience of the nation, especially concerning infrastructure. The collapse of a 200m stretch of a 3km-long bridge – under construction since 2016 – over the Ganga in Bihar is one more project of appalling quality meeting its inevitable fate. Yes, using the word inevitable itself denotes how we go about laying scant disregard for the all-important quality to ensure the construction of any structure is solid and long-lasting.
- The Bihar incident comes barely seven months after the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat that killed over 140 people. The Bihar bridge imploded under the weight of its own flawed design and shoddy construction. Bridges, roads, and expressways collapse across India and the list is depressingly long. In the last year alone, from Uttarakhand to Karnataka, UP to Maharashtra, Himachal, and Haryana, roads caved in, bridges collapsed, and stretches of expressways were washed away in rains, as in Bundelkhand, five days after the inauguration. Sadly, there is no end to the state-private contractor-builder nexus where high-value infra projects are rushed through without structural inspections, quality audits, or safety monitoring. Public safety is repeatedly disregarded.
PC: PTI
- As reported, the collapsed Bihar bridge had missed several completion deadlines. Mind you, parts of it collapsed last year as well due to wind and rain. Interestingly DCM Bihar said IIT-Roorkee experts auditing the project following the previous cave-in had noted serious structural defects. Why then was construction continuing? Moreover, a disingenuous attempt was made to play down the incident – that the authorities demolished the bridge. While the claim collapsed quicker than the bridge, it speaks to the entitled impunity politicians and officials seem to enjoy. Notably, regardless of the party at the helm, no head roll within governments but contractors pay the price, if at all. It’s time the entrusted authorities develop a conscience to execute desired works.
