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In June 2024, the country witnessed a series of mishaps, from train accidents to the collapse of roofs at important installations. It appears that we have forgotten the need to ensure building safety and sustainable infrastructural facilities in the country if we are to truly progress from a developing nation to a developed one. This negligence will likely impact our efforts to build world-class infrastructural facilities, attracting the investments required to ensure speedy economic development. Thus, those responsible should swiftly be held accountable, as mere blame games will not take us anywhere closer to achieving our goals.
India has been spending a significant amount on infrastructure developments for an extended period of time now. As a result, it currently has the second largest road network in the world, besides constructing 84 new airports during the last decade. Several other infrastructural facilities have also come up in an effort to make India an investor-friendly country and to make its dream of becoming a five trillion dollar economy a reality. At such a juncture, any question mark on India's integrity and sincerity in building infrastructure may act as a spoiler and bring all efforts to naught. Therefore, the recent mishaps should be thoroughly investigated, and no one should be spared if found guilty.
For an inquiry to take place, we should restrain ourselves from accusing each other irresponsibly. On the contrary, stakeholders should work together to reach the root causes behind such tragedies to avoid any such incidents in the future. For instance, instead of arguing over the commissioning dates of the projects to link the blame with a particular regime, investigation needs to focus on what went wrong in executing the projects. Did it happen due to faulty designs or poor construction materials? These questions are crucial, as the primary investigation has found that accumulation of rainwater led to the collapse of Terminal 1 of the Delhi airport. If the primary findings are substantiated during the course of a full-fledged inquiry, it will definitely point towards a serious design flaw as the drainage system on the roof was not equipped to handle heavy downpours. The incidents at the Jabalpur and Rajkot airports are also indicative of similar design flaws, as all roof collapse incidents at these airports happened during heavy rainfall.
On the other hand, the collapse of five bridges in nine days in Bihar raises serious doubts over the materials being used in construction works. Bihar is infamous for "babu-contractor" collusions, which have affected the quality of development projects. Moreover, cracks have been found on an approach road to the newly-built Atal Setu in Mumbai. All these incidents not only make a dent in the state’s exchequer but also harm the reputation of the country. Thus, by learning lessons from repeated failures, the focus must be on constructing standardised infrastructural facilities. It’s time for India to enforce building codes that ensure sustainable structures and a better future for all people living in the country.