Vadodara: At least nine people lost their lives after the Gambhira bridge connecting Vadodara and Anand districts of Gujarat collapsed on Wednesday, July 9. Several vehicles plunged into the Mahisagar River. However, a tanker had a close shave as it stopped just at the edge of the broken bridge.

A video of the tanker hanging in the middle of the broken bridge surfaced online. In the video, it could be seen that a slab of the Gambhira bridge fell into the river. The front part of the vehicle was on the broken portion of the bridge.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall is reported in several parts of Gujarat, received heavy rainfall in the past few days, throwing normal life out of gear.

The bridge connects central Gujarat to the Saurashtra region. The bridge was located near Padra town in the district. According to the details available, around nine persons have died and another nine persons have been rescued, out of whom five have been referred to the SSG Hospital in Vadodara. None of the rescued persons is in critical condition. The rescue operation is still going on,” Superintendent of Police (Vadodara rural) Rohan Anand said as reported by news agency.

As per the police official, a 10 to 15 metres long slab of the bridge collapsed at around 7.30 am. Five vehicles — two trucks, two vans and an autorickshaw — fell into the river after the bridge collapsed, Vadodara Collector Anil Dhameliya said. Three people on a two-wheeler, which fell into the river, managed to swim to safety, Dhameliya added.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expressed grief over the tragedy and said an order has been given to the state’s roads and buildings department to conduct a probe into the collapse and submit a report.

Gujarat minister Rushikesh Patel said the bridge was constructed in 1985, and its maintenance was carried out periodically as and when required. “The exact reason behind the incident will be probed,” he said.

The nearly 900-metre-long Gambhira bridge has 23 piers and was inaugurated in 1985.

New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing language row in Maharashtra, state Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal hit out at the BJP and alleged that they were trying to polarise the language.

Harshwardhan Sapkal said, “The BJP keeps cursing the word secularism every day. Secularism is a necessity for the country and its culture. Secularism is not only used for language but also equality and caste. States also use secularism. Secularism is used for language also. BJP has no concern about secularism so they are trying to create rift in between 22 languages in the country. Unity in Diversity has a direct connection with secularism, and both concepts are related to language and culture. They have already caused polarisation based on caste and religion. Now they are trying to polarise language as well.”

He further said that the BJP believes in one country, one leader, one religion, one language and before this, the BJP has created a rift in religion and caste.

Earlier, addressing the issue of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers being detained in Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday stated that everyone has the right to protest in the country.

“Everyone has the right to protest. We don’t know why the BJP is anti-Maharashtra and anti-Marathi, and why people were arrested last night. There was a peaceful protest. They should have allowed it. Everyone has the right to protest”, he said.

Aaditya Thackeray noted that the BJP is trying to spread “hatred” and create conflicts between “Marathi and non-Marathi people,” he said.

He further stated that the “BJP’s divisive agenda,” ahead of the BMC and Bihar elections, would not succeed.

“The BJP is trying to spread hatred in Maharashtra and create conflicts between Marathi and non-Marathi people. Their agenda won’t work. Their agenda for the Bihar and BMC elections is to create division. This is the BJP’s tactic, and it won’t succeed”, he said.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad punches canteen staff over stale food “The food was stale, I vomited after smelling it and taking the first bite,” said Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, defending his assault on a canteen staffer at the MLA Hostel in Mumbai.

The video of the incident, which has surfaced on social media, showed the Maharashtra lawmaker calling people and asking them to smell the food packet in the canteen. The heated confrontation soon led to physical violence.

MLA’s Reaction To Backlash

Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad expressed his frustration over the poor food quality at the Akashwani canteen, where he has been a patron for 30 years. He highlighted complaints about stale and unhygienic food, including 15-day-old eggs and non-vegetarian items, and the presence of insects and dirt.

After experiencing bad food himself, he insisted that others confirm its staleness, which they did. Gaikwad stressed the importance of serving clean and healthy food, labeling current conditions a health hazard. He lamented the lack of action from the government despite numerous complaints and urged for a check on the canteen’s kitchen, voicing concern for the health of the 5,000-10,000 patrons who rely on the service.

‘I Will Do It Again…’: Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad

When asked about assaulting the canteen staff, Gaikwad said that the food was in the worst condition and that he would hit the canteen staff again for a similar service. “Natural meri jo reaction thi ki agar aap Hindi mein samajhte nahi ho, Marathi mein samajhte nahi ho, angreji (English) mein samjhte nahi ho toh aakhir mein humara Shiv Sene ka style humara phir asal rehta hi hai”, MLA stated this conversation

“Meri bhasha aakhir mein ye rehti hain” said Gaikwad in response to the incident. The incident took place at the Akashvani MLA canteen in Churchgate, where several legislators are staying during the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly.

The incident comes amid ongoing political friction between the MNS and the Mahayuti government, led by the BJP, over the MNS’s aggressive campaign promoting the use of Marathi among residents of the state.