Union Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, rang the alarm bells when a safety audit of the country’s 1.6 lakh bridges found that over a hundred of them were in critical condition.

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Gadkari drew attention to the fact that these unsafe structures need to be attended pronto to prevent an immediate collapse. Caving in would mean the most telling things: loss of lives and irreparable damage to vehicles. What makes the revelation even more scary is the ongoing season because old and dilapidated bridges are particularly vulnerable during monsoon.

While the government trains its focus on expanding and developing infrastructure across the country to improve the quality of life for the people and attract investment, it cannot afford to dilute the importance of maintenance of the existing infrastructure.

Last year, as Gadkari rightly pointed out, Maharashtra paid a steep price when a colonial bridge in Raigad district collapsed, leading to the death of at least 26 people. In the same year, an under-construction flyover collapsed in Kolkata, snuffing out 27 lives and critically injuring around 80 people. In the last 16 years, there have been six major instances of bridge collapse that highlighted the dire need of repair jobs.

The exchequers of a few states are low on cash because of humongous farm-loan waivers. This, in turn, will affect both brownfield and greenfield infrastructural projects. To prevent another major catastrophe, the Centre will now have to step up efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of citizens.

With several rivers in spate, danger seems to be lurking around the corner. Gadkari, of course, sounded hopeful that the government will do its bit to prevent a catastrophe. However, what the situation at hand demands is work on a war-footing.