- By Priyanka Koul
- Wed, 29 Oct 2025 09:48 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
A major tragedy was prevented on Tuesday evening when a portion of an old, condemned bridge over the Western Yamuna Canal collapsed in Badhi Majra village of Yamunanagar district. The bridge, built around 100 years ago, gave way at approximately 5 pm, but fortunately, no one was on it at the time.
Thousands of devotees had crossed the bridge on Monday evening and Tuesday morning to celebrate the Chhath Puja festival.
According to officials, the bridge is located near the site where hundreds of devotees had gathered earlier in the day to perform Chhath rituals. Many people are believed to have used the bridge in the morning while traveling to and from the canal ghat.
“After performing puja, people had returned home, but the bridge suddenly collapsed around 5 pm,” said a local resident.
Eyewitnesses reported that the collapse was accompanied by a loud noise, which caused panic in the area.
“When the portion of the bridge fell, there was a huge sound, and people rushed to the spot,” said a villager.
Vehicles belonging to Mayor Suman Bahmani, Divisional President Shubham Rana, and other officials had also crossed the bridge. Fortunately, the collapse did not occur while the bridge was crowded. The irrigation department blocked both ends of the bridge by dumping soil on Tuesday afternoon, but no warning signs had been placed prior to the incident.
According to Jagran.com, the old bridge had been condemned three years ago before the construction of a new Rs 8-crore bridge over the Western Yamuna Canal. Irrigation department officials confirmed that the bridge was around 100 years old. Several villages, including Badi Majra, Teerth Nagar, Pansra, and Tajkapur, lie on the far side of the bridge, and people traveling from Saharanpur also used it. Although a parallel bridge exists, the old bridge continued to see frequent traffic.
Residents Ram Bihari and Jugal Kishore, who inspected the collapsed bridge, said that around 4:15 pm, they heard a loud crash and saw that a portion of the bridge’s center had fallen into the canal. At the time, there were no vehicles or pedestrians on it. The previous day, however, the bridge had been crowded with devotees performing Chhath rituals.
Despite being aware of the bridge’s deteriorating condition, the department neither demolished nor closed it, and no warning signs had been put in place. No measures were taken to prevent traffic from using the unsafe structure, according to Jagran.com.