Cracks in India’s Rise

India’s dream of becoming a developed nation is suffering one jolt after another as major infrastructural facilities in the country are collapsing with unfailing regularity. For the record, three bridges have collapsed in recent weeks, killing more than 20 people and causing enormous hardships to the populace. Among these three collapsed bridges, two were in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and the third one was in Assam’s Cachar district, which was reportedly repaired shortly before the tragic incident. While over 100 bridges built before Independence are still being used, the crumbling of new or repaired bridges clearly indicates poor construction work, faulty designs, and the use of sub-standard materials. This is a serious problem that the authorities should look into with the right earnestness to prevent roadblocks in the path of India’s march towards progress. In this context, both the Central and State agencies should work in tandem and should not allow such death traps to be built all over the country.

It may be mentioned here that infrastructure development has become the major focus during the last couple of decades as the country seems determined to make up for lost time, which is largely responsible for our economic backwardness, as an economy needs necessary facilities to prosper. To accomplish the task of providing proper infrastructure facilities to the agriculture and industry sectors, various steps have been taken by the government, such as building highways, constructing bridges, improving other modes of transport, etc. But it’s a pity most of these infrastructural facilities are not being maintained properly, as is evident from their collapse. It’s time for us to realise that the job does not end with constructing infrastructure; proper maintenance of these facilities should also be our priority.

For this purpose, we will have to adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards the unscrupulous contractors-officials nexus, as it indulges in corrupt practices. This is why it must be made mandatory for the government to hand over the responsibilities of all important infrastructural facilities to reputed firms with impeccable credentials. Often, it has been found that contracts for infrastructure building have been given to inexperienced firms irrespective of the apprehensions of sub-standard quality of constructions. Secondly, the standard operating procedure (SOP) should be followed strictly while taking up any construction work of importance. Here, it may be mentioned that after every such tragedy, we vow to implement SOP strictly, only to forget it the following day.

So, we will have to be vigilant about constructing and maintaining infrastructural facilities if we are sincere in our quest to take economic development to the next level. Besides, all these happenings are affecting India’s reputation internationally. Beyond a doubt, collapsing infrastructure will keep foreign investors away from the country, creating hindrances in India’s progress, which is now being regarded as the fastest-growing economy in the world. Some people may have the opinion that these incidents are minor and localised and will have no impact on our economy, but the fact remains that such events have major ramifications on both the country’s reputation and the economy as a whole.