Major Mishap Averted in Haryana: 100-Year-Old Yamuna Bridge Collapses After Chhath Festival

Yamunanagar (The Uttam Hindu): A major tragedy was narrowly avoided in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district on Tuesday evening when a 100-year-old bridge over the Western Yamuna Canal suddenly collapsed. Fortunately, no one was on the bridge at the time of the incident, preventing a potential disaster. According to officials, the irrigation department had already declared the bridge condemned, yet locals continued to use it regularly. Just a few hours earlier, thousands of devotees had crossed the bridge while celebrating the Chhath festival.

Sources said Mayor Suman Bahmani, Mandal President Shubham Rana, and several officials had also recently crossed the same bridge. Thankfully, it did not collapse during the heavy festive rush. The department had blocked both ends of the bridge by piling up soil earlier in the day, but no warning signboards had been installed at that time.

Officials from the irrigation department stated that the bridge had been declared unsafe nearly three years ago, following the construction of a new bridge at a cost of ₹8 crore. The old bridge connected several villages, including Bari Majra, Teerth Nagar, Pansra, and Tajkpur. Many people traveling towards Saharanpur also used this route.

Eyewitnesses Ram Bihari and Jugal Kishore said the bridge collapsed around 4:15 PM with a loud noise as its middle section fell into the canal. “Luckily, there were no vehicles or pedestrians on the bridge at that moment,” they added.

Teerth Nagar resident and diver Rajiv said cracks had appeared in the bridge slab during recent canal renovation work. “I even informed the police about it on Tuesday morning,” he said. “While I was sitting near the edge of the bridge, I suddenly heard a loud blast-like sound, and the middle section collapsed right in front of me.”

Irrigation Department SE R.S. Mittal confirmed that the bridge had been declared condemned long ago. “We had already blocked the road on both sides this morning,” he said. “The old bridge was scheduled for demolition soon. A new bridge has already been constructed and is currently in use, while the old one was officially out of service.”