A decades-old narrow bridge spanning the Indrayani River near Talegaon in Maharashtra’s Pune district collapsed on Sunday afternoon, killing four persons and injuring over 50 others. The incident, which unfolded amid heavy weekend tourist footfall, has cast a spotlight on official apathy and neglected infrastructure.
The 470-foot-long bridge, comprising stone, iron, and cement sections, was barely four feet wide, just sufficient for a single two-wheeler and two pedestrians at a time. On the day of the collapse, however, over 100 persons had crowded onto it, ignoring a cautionary sign and overwhelming the already compromised structure. Decades of Neglect Lead to Pune Bridge Collapsed been in spate following heavy rainfall. Rescue operations continued through the night, concluding nearly 15 hours later on Monday morning. Officials confirmed that 55 people were rescued, and three of the four deceased have been identified.
An eyewitness recounted, “I struggled for 15 minutes in the water and finally held a pipe and came out.” “People had their scooters and motorcycles parked on the bridge. Nobody paid heed to danger signs,” another said.
Witnesses said the bridge had trembled for nearly five minutes before giving way. The structure, already rusted and pitted with potholes, had been crudely patched up by locals using cement blocks. According to officials, the bridge had not undergone a structural audit in recent years, despite repeated written warnings from villagers to the Public Works Department and the Gram Panchayat.
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Amol, who survived the collapse, said panicked screams pierced the air as the bridge gave way under the weight of motorcycles and pedestrians.
Despite the high footfall—reportedly around 8,000 people each weekend—there was no dedicated security or crowd management in place. A police constable had been assigned to monitor the bridge on weekends only after repeated demands by villagers. But on Sunday, even after police briefly dispersed the crowd around noon following a tip-off, revellers returned once the officials departed.
In 2017, former MLA Digambardada Bhegde had written to the state government requesting a new bridge. “There are eight to ten villagers near it. Farmers, workers, and students need to cross the bridge — who do it on foot,” he wrote. Despite a grant of ₹80,000 sanctioned last year by BJP MLA and minister Ravindra Chavan for bridge repairs, no repair work was ever undertaken. The issue had also been raised in Parliament but was never acted upon. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has remarked that the iron bridge was “rusted” and “probably collapsed due to crowding”.
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