Of falling bridges and sinking standards

A series of bridge collapses — be it in Gujarat, Bihar or Maharashtra — comes as a rude wake-up call, exposing chinks in the country’s infrastructure management system.

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Poor construction quality, use of substandard materials, design flaws and inadequate maintenance and monitoring are among the reasons for the mishaps resulting in the death of several people. The collapse of the 43-year-old Gambhira bridge in Gujarat’s Vadodara, leaving over 18 people dead, was the latest instance showing how infrastructure is often built in haste with minimum oversight on quality and poor maintenance.