Gambhira bridge collapse: a 40-year-old bridge, warnings ignored

What happened

At about 7:30 a.m. on 9 July 2025, a slab of the Gambhira bridge — built in 1985 across the Mahi river, linking Vadodara and Anand districts — gave way under peak-hour traffic. Trucks, vans and two-wheelers plunged into the river. Around 20 people were killed, with the toll rising over days as bodies were recovered.

What the record shows

Residents and local representatives had repeatedly flagged the bridge’s deteriorating condition and said it was no longer fit for heavy traffic; it remained fully open regardless. After the collapse, the state government suspended four engineers of the Roads and Buildings Department and ordered a high-level probe. A statewide inspection of more than 1,800 bridges that followed closed 20 outright and restricted 113 others to light vehicles — an official acknowledgement of how many structures had been left in unsafe condition.

Where it stands

The collapse follows the 2022 Morbi suspension-bridge disaster in the same state, in which 135 people died. The pattern — known deterioration, no pre-emptive closure or repair, action only after deaths — is documented in the inspection drive’s own findings. The departmental probe’s conclusions and any accountability above the level of the suspended engineers remain pending.