After a part of the Gambhira Bridge connecting Saurashtra region and Central Gujarat collapsed on the morning of 9th July, 2025, a truck which got stuck on the bridge is still hanging there, fifteen days after the incident.
Some media reports based on the interviews of the truck driver and the owner claimed that the officials of the two districts of Anand and Vadodara are denying their accountability, which is causing unnecessary hardships to the truck driver and the owner, who have been running from pillar to post to get the truck removed. Pending EMIs are adding to the worries of the truck driver, who is not even able to claim the insurance.
Aย reportย in Divya Bhaskar quoted truck owner Ramashankar Pal as saying, ” The officials of the Anand government office are putting the responsibility on Vadodara, and the officials of Vadodara are putting the responsibility on Anand. We are tired of facing all the hassles. The officials replied that the army was also requested to remove the truck by helicopter, but there is no possibility of the truck being removed right now.”
The truck owner further told Bhaskar, “I have a loan on the truck and I have to pay an instalment of Rs 1 lakh every month. If the truck runs, I will be able to pay the instalment. The administration had given me an assurance for removing the truck, but even after so many days, I have not been able to get the truck.”
The title of the Divya Bhaskar report reads- ‘First the truck was hanging, now the officials are ‘hanging’ it: Even after 10 days of the accident, the truck is still on the Gambhira bridge, the driver is wandering to unload the truck, saying – there is an instalment of lakhs per month.’
A Gujarati News’ TV channel, GSTV wrote, ‘The government has raised its hands’, the situation of the truck owner is difficult, and no one is listening to him. It has also been claimed in this report that the truck owner has been doing the rounds of the government offices of Anand-Vadodara for ten days, but he did not get any response. “We have to pay the instalments for the truck. The bank is saying that we have to pay the instalments, while the insurance company is saying that the truck is safe, no insurance will be given,” said the truck owner as quoted by GSTV.
Anand District Collector spoke to OpIndia
When OpIndia contacted Anand District Collector Praveen Chaudhary regarding the entire matter, a different version came to light. He said that there is no dispute between the two districts, and neither is the delay due to the administration blaming each other. The reality is that the truck could not be removed due to some technical reasons that emerged during the rescue operation that lasted for several days. However, the Anand District Collectorate is providing all possible help to the truck owner.
Divulging the details about the entire incident, the Anand District Collector said, “After the bridge accident, it was impossible to take heavy machinery like cranes on the bridge due to technical reasons. The truck will need to be lifted from the front, which was damaged, using a crane. But the Road and Building Department believed that using a crane in such a situation is dangerous.” He said that the rescue operation has been going on continuously, and machines were deployed till yesterday. Now that the rescue operation is almost complete, a team from the mechanical wing of the Road and Building Construction Department is working on it in collaboration with a private company and experts from High Speed Railway Corporation Limited.
“Whether the truck should be pulled back or lifted by providing some support from below is being contemplated. It also has to be seen that there is no danger to any human life in this,” the District Collector said.
The truck was not removed, as a rescue operation was going on
The reason for the delay in removing the truck is that the rescue operation went on for several days after the accident. A tanker was not found, so a sonar machine was brought from Mumbai to search and locate it underwater. When the NDRF started the rescue operation after the incident, the district administration was requested to keep the stranded truck tied so that it would not pose any danger to the rescue efforts going on under the bridge, as the rescue operation was a priority at that time.
After discussing with the NDRF team, the district administration tied the truck to a crane from the back to ensure that the rescue operation went on unaffected. When the Army was consulted, it said that pushing or pulling the truck would require the involvement of people and would put their lives in danger. At present, technical teams of the Road and Building Department are working on the strategy to remove the truck ,and it will be disposed of soon. Teams from both the district administrations are also assisting in the operation.
The collector also clarified the issue of insurance and EMI
The Anand District Collector said that the truck owner visited his office and met him and the additional district magistrate, who explained everything to him. The owner agreed for the truck to be destroyed, but it has to be done in such a way that does not put any life in danger. The plan to do this is being worked out.
As far as insurance is concerned, the District Collector said that he met the insurance company. The company said that if the government gave a written certificate of the incident, they would approve the insurance claim. The collector’s office has also given assurance in this regard, and the written process will be completed with the company.
Regarding EMI, the collector said that although this is a matter between the bank and the truck owner, the administration cannot directly interfere in it, yet he wrote a letter to the bank and requested it to postpone the instalment for two to three months on humanitarian grounds. Also, a representation will be sent to the State Level Bankers Committee, so that the truck owner can get relief on EMI.
The District Collector made it clear that this is not an Anand-Vadodara issue. The area where this incident happened and the truck got stuck is entirely in Vadodara, but since the Vadodara administration was continuously engaged in the rescue operation, the Anand district administration stepped in and provided all possible assistance.
