Part of 75-year-old overbridge collapses in M.P.s Indore; municipal company blames rats

A piece of a virtually 75-year-old overbridge in Indore has collapsed with a member of the civic company’s mayoral council blaming rat infestation for the collapse, a declare junked by civil engineering specialists who mentioned it was brought on by lack of upkeep and visitors surge.

Officials mentioned a piece of the Shastri Bridge, positioned on a busy street within the Madhya Pradesh metropolis, collapsed on Sunday (November 2, 2025), making a five-by-seven-foot gap.

They mentioned following the incident, the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has began fixing the cavity and was additionally finishing up extra structural restore work on the bridge.

Rajendra Rathore, in-charge of the Public Works Department within the IMC’s Mayor-in-Council, advised PTI on Tuesday, “There is no structural defect in the Shastri Bridge. However, there is a menace of rats on this bridge. Large rats have dug numerous burrows near the footpath, hollowing out the bridge. This caused a section of the bridge to sink.”

Mr. Rathore famous that to fight the rat infestation, the footpath of the Shastri Bridge is being bolstered with a brand new layer of cement-concrete, and residents have been suggested to not give meals or drinks to needy folks sitting on the construction as this stuff appeal to rodents.

The restore work on the bridge has been sanctioned at a value of ₹40 lakh, he knowledgeable.

Officials mentioned the restore work is being carried out based on requirements of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) and based mostly on suggestions of civil engineering specialists from town’s Shri GS Institute of Technology and Science (SGSITS).

SGSITS is a government-aided autonomous establishment.

One of those specialists, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned, “The sinking of a section of the Shastri Bridge is a wake up call. The traffic pressure on the bridge is constantly increasing, and this incident is a result of inadequate maintenance. Rats alone could not have caused such a large cavity in the bridge, and this incident is a consequence of structural distress.”

According to requirements, each bridge older than 25 years ought to bear common testing of its power and load-bearing capability to get rid of the potential of accidents, he steered.