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Maharashtra

Maharashtra has 35K bridges and their upkeep poses nightmarish challenge

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4 years ago

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Maharashtra has a stupendous 35,000-plus big and small bridges on roads in village, towns, cities, state or national highways, posing mind-boggling challenges for their regular upkeep and maintenance, with multiple agencies involved, but recording barely 100 structures crashing since 2000, top officials said.

As per government data, under the state’s Public Works Department (PWD) jurisdiction, there are 146 small, 105 big and five long bridges (total 256) from the pre-Independence era, some dating back to over 350 years and still functional.

In the post-Independence era, the state recorded massive development since 1957, with around 16,000 small, 2100 big and 100 long (total 18,200) bridges being constructed.

Besides, there are some 12,000, including 2,000 major bridges, on the national highways crisscrossing the state, an estimated 4,000 (total 16,000) in various civic bodies’ jurisdictions, like some 450-odd in Mumbai, not counting another huge number of bridges on the railway networks.

Despite the huge numbers of bridges, in the past 22 years, barely around 100 medium or small have crashed – 75 percent of them comprising masonry design and the rest raft design – in different parts of the state.

The worst crash was the washout of 106-year-old British-era masonry bridge on the heavily-flooded Savitri River near Mahad in Ratnagiri on August 2, 2016, which swept away two ST buses and around 10 other private vehicles with the death toll touching 40.

There have been other smaller crashes in Mumbai and other parts of the state in the past two decades though with lesser casualties or fatalities.

As per Indian Road Congress (IRC) norms, a “small bridge” spans 06-60 metres, a “big bridge” is 60-200 metres and a “long bridge” is 200 metres plus and can go upto a few kms in length, each posing unique challenges for their upkeep and safety.

These bridges comprise a variety of designs, architecture styles and materials depending on their location, whether linking hills, mountains, passing over rivers, streams, drains (nullah), creeks, the sea (the Rajiv Gandhi Bandra Worli Sea Link or the upcoming Mumbai Trans Harbour Link), flyovers, road over-bridge, foot over-bridge, etc.

“There are prescribed SOPs for checks, routine, pre-monsoon and post-monsoon maintenance for all bridges, but with a staff of around 5,000, its possible to cover only around 35 per cent of the bridges in a year,” revealed a senior PWD officer, requesting anonymity.

As per the SOPs, any initial complaints go to the concerned local PWD office which sends out teams to inspect, and if there are serious problems, specialised team with experts from within and outside (like IITs, IIE, etc.) examine it scientifically, said the officer, who has personally inspected around 1,000 bridges in the past two decades in some of the most hazardous terrain.

Then, the cumbersome work of making reports, proposals, budget estimates, sourcing the funds, setting the time-frame, etc, takes place, and again depending on the urgency of the work, it may or may not be prioritised as paucity of finance remains the biggest hurdle.

A former PWD Chief Engineer of Bridges had suggested to the state government and Union Minister for Roads & Highways Nitin Gadkari to rope in the 30,000 students from civil engineering colleges studying in their two final years to help in the inspection works.

“They can form a part of the local PWD inspection teams and theoretically can inspect all the 35,000-bridges in the state in just a couple of days. This exercise can be done twice a year to reveal all the maintenance flaws and potential risks to any structure,” he said.

The students would be guided by the PWD experts, and it would have proved an invaluable academic field exercise with some incentives like grace marks or extra grades in their exams, etc, but there was no movement on his suggestion, rued the ex-CE.

Prescribing a regular “good health check-up” for all bridges, especially the old ones, a senior Highway Department officer appreciated the Indian Railways for their “constant vigil and dedicated teams carrying out daily, weekly, monthly inspections or biannual surveys of all their bridges” to ensure safety of the hundreds of trains hurtling around the country with passengers and cargo.

“Unfortunately, this zest is severely lacking among the states’ PWDs and virtually non-existent for the national highways authority, though the local civic bodies barely pass out on this count,” the officer said.

Touching on the Savitri River bridge crash, the PWD officer said it was nicknamed a “green bridge” as its fa�ade was completely covered with shrubs, bushes, creepers and small plants – but spelling a “red alert” from the safety aspect.

“Such overgrowth is rarely taken into account, another lurking danger is the dredging of sand from the water-bed in the vicinity, blatantly violating norms which weaken the bridge foundations and make it prone to a crash, overloading during peak hours which hasten the wear-and-tear, allowing vehicles to ply even when the flood levels touch or cross the red level marks, as it happened in the Savitri River case,” he said.

Officers from the Highways Department, PWD, civic bodies and others ruled that “unless regular inspection and maintenance” is carried out for all bridges – majority are already over 40-50 years old – there can be repetitions of the recent Morbi (141 dead) or the 2003 Daman & Diu (26 dead) type tragedies, with more risks added as new bridges come up practically every month in the massive expansion of the roads and railways in the country.

The inspection tasks are now considerably easier with the applications of computers, drones, satellites or other modern gadgets to scan the bridge health without physical presence, though the latest technological advancements come at a high price and are deployed on hardly one percent of all the structures in the state, the officials said.

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Crime

Maha: Woman beaten to death with hammer over minor dispute in Palghar; two arrested

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6 hours ago

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October 20, 2026

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Palghar Police have solved the murder of a 52-year-old woman, Sajani Vinod Waghari, who was allegedly bludgeoned to death with a hammer following a minor dispute in the Saphale police station area. Two accused have been arrested in connection with the crime, police said on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Nilesh Dharamaji Chibhade (35), a resident of Bambar Pada, Jamshar Post, Jawhar taluka, and Ujwala Navsu Khutade (33), a resident of Dabhosa in Jawhar taluka, both in Palghar district.

According to police, Waghari, a resident of Adwan Sawarpada in Palghar taluka, was found injured near an iron bridge at Tepacha Pada on October 15, 2026. She was immediately taken to the Saphale Primary Health Centre, where doctors examined her and declared her dead.

Initially, a case of accidental death (No. 32/2026) was registered at Saphale Police Station under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

However, during the inquest and subsequent medical examination, doctors found a serious injury behind the woman’s ear, apparently caused by a weapon. The injury had resulted in excessive blood loss, leading to her death.

Following the medical findings, police suspected murder and registered a case (No. 119/2026) under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) on October 15.

Considering the seriousness of the crime, Palghar Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh directed the formation of separate teams from the Local Crime Branch and Saphale Police Station to investigate the case.

The teams pursued leads through confidential information and technical analysis, which eventually helped identify the two suspects.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to attacking Waghari on the head with a hammer following a minor altercation, police said.

Both were subsequently arrested and produced before a court, which remanded them to five days of police custody until October 22.

The murder case was cracked under the guidance of SP Yatish Deshmukh, Additional Superintendent of Police Vinayak Narale and Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Palghar division Umesh Gawali. Further investigation is being conducted by Assistant Police Inspector Datta Shelke of Saphale Police Station.

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Maharashtra

Woman arrested for extorting ₹4 crore by blackmailing victims with obscene videos

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6 hours ago

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October 20, 2026

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Mumbai: A woman has been arrested by a team from Crime Branch Unit 7 in connection with an extortion case. The accused allegedly extorted approximately 40 million rupees (4 crore rupees) from a resident of Ghatkopar by threatening to defame her using an obscene video and threatening her with death. She was also demanding further payments.
The complainant works as a manager at a jewelry store. Between December 2024 and January 2025, an acquaintance—a woman—engaged the complainant in an obscene video chat via WhatsApp. The accused then threatened to circulate this footage to the police, the courts, and the CBI, claiming that the complainant would be summoned for investigation. Fearing public disgrace, the complainant paid a total of 40 million rupees to the accused. The woman continued to demand more money and threatened that if further payments were not made, she would break the complainant’s limbs and kill her. Taking into account the gravity of the matter, Crime Branch Unit 7 (Ghatkopar, Mumbai) laid a trap for the woman who had been demanding extortion money. On October 19, she was caught red-handed at RK Restaurant, LBS Road, Ghatkopar West, Mumbai, while accepting a sum of 5 lakh rupees from the complainant. Following the complainant’s report, a case was registered at the Ghatkopar Police Station under Sections 308(2) and 308(7) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The Crime Branch has taken over the investigation, and the woman has been arrested; further inquiries are being conducted by Unit 7, Ghatkopar.
This operation was carried out by a team comprising Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, Joint Police Commissioner Anil Kumbhare, Additional Commissioner Krishnakant Upadhyay, and DCP Nanath, along with the personnel of Unit 7.

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Maharashtra

Major crackdown by Mumbai Crime Branch, 2 kg heroin worth ₹10 crore seized, three accused arrested.

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6 hours ago

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October 20, 2026

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The Mumbai Crime Branch has intensified its operations against drug peddlers, and in the process, the police have reported the arrest of a drug smuggler.

A case has been registered at the Borivali Police Station under Sections 8(c), 21(c), and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985.

On October 14, the Crime Branch conducted a raid in Borivali West. So far, three suspects have been arrested in connection with this case. The seized items include: 1) 2,032 grams of heroin, valued at 10,16,00,000 rupees; and 2) three mobile phones, valued at 30,000 rupees. Acting on the directives of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, the Mumbai Crime Branch has launched a special campaign to identify and take strict action against individuals involved in the smuggling, purchase, and sale of narcotics across Mumbai. During the aforementioned operation, acting on secret information, a police team conducted a swift and effective raid in Kandivali (West), Mumbai, on October 14. They seized 758 grams of heroin—estimated to be worth 37,900,000 rupees—from the possession of two individuals.

Subsequently, on October 17, based on information obtained during the interrogation of the arrested suspects, the police carried out another prompt and effective operation, seizing 1,274 grams of heroin—valued at approximately 63,700,000 rupees—from a third suspect. In total, 2,032 grams of heroin, with an estimated value of 101,600,000 rupees, have been seized from the three suspects.

A case has been registered under Sections 8(c) and 21(c) of the NDPS Act, 1985 (at the Borivali Police Station), as the suspects were found to be in possession of and smuggling heroin. The suspects are believed to be part of an inter-state drug trafficking syndicate. Further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend those responsible for supplying, buying, and selling the narcotics.

This successful operation was carried out by the Kandivali unit under the supervision of Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, Joint Police Commissioner Anil Kumbhare, Additional Commissioner Krishnakant Upadhyay, and DCP Nanath Dhole.

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