As the US celebrated it’s 250 years of Independence, I watched dramatic pictures of fireworks accidentally setting parts of the 143 year old Brooklyn Bridge ablaze. For a few anxious moments it looked frightening, but the fire was quickly brought under control and, thankfully, the bridge itself suffered no structural damage.
One hundred and forty three years old and still standing with dignity.
Then came another piece of news.
The much celebrated Missing Link bridge on the Mumbai Pune Expressway, inaugurated barely nine weeks ago, had reportedly suffered serious damage after heavy rains.
Nine weeks.
One bridge has stood through world wars, changing governments, economic depressions, technological revolutions and generations of traffic. The other seems to be struggling to survive its first monsoon.
It does make one wonder.
Are we building monuments or merely stage props?
Are some of our grand projects becoming giant cardboard cutouts that look magnificent on inauguration day but begin showing wrinkles the moment nature decides to test them?
Whenever my car stops beneath one of the many flyovers that have sprung up across our cities, I find myself glancing upward. It is not because I admire the engineering. It is because I quietly hope that nothing chooses that exact moment to fall. Sadly, that fear is not imaginary. We have seen enough tragic incidents over the years to know that this government’s concrete structures do not always inspire confidence.
Somewhere along the line, we seem to have confused speed with quality.
We celebrate ribbon cuttings, drone shots and speeches.
We applaud deadlines met. But the true inauguration of any bridge is not the day a politician cuts the ribbon. It is twenty, fifty or even a hundred years later when the structure is still faithfully carrying people across.
That is when engineers deserve applause.
And then comes the uncomfortable question.
Who pays when repairs begin almost immediately? It is not the contractor. It is not the politician. It is you and me.
Every repair, every reconstruction and every emergency inspection comes from the pockets of taxpayers who had already paid once to build it.
If money meant for solid foundations finds its way elsewhere, should we really be surprised when the foundations themselves become weak?
Perhaps the real Missing Link is not in the highway at all.
Perhaps it is the missing link between responsibility and accountability. Between public money and public service. Between building for headlines and building for history.
The Brooklyn Bridge has quietly preached a sermon for 143 years. It says that greatness is not measured by a spectacular inauguration but by faithful endurance.
Maybe it is time we stopped asking how quickly we can build and started asking a far more important question.
Will it still be standing when I drive here the next time. Forget about asking when our grandchildren drive across it..!
———————————–
Become an author… Click here
————————————-
Would love to hear from you in the COMMENTS section below…and IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE BOB’S BANTER EVERYDAY, PLEASE SEND YOUR NAME AND WHATSAPP PHONE NO TO [email protected]
————————————————–
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
Why go so far, the Mahim bridge connecting Bandra built in 1845 is still standing with only one major reinforcement in the 80s. The Byculla flyover collapse eventually saw the resignation of Auntaly due to the cement scandal but here nothing will happen
Crores of tax payers hard earned money going down the drain. Or should we say, going into the pockets of a few. Will they ever be made accountable?
The powers that be don’t know the word
” accountability.”
The tax payers are looted with equanimity!
As long as palms are greased and pockets are filled
They give two hoots to the ones who pay the bills.
The standing of the Brooklyn bridge is indeed the sermon that speaks! Why talk so much! There is so much speech in what we see around!
On principle I am opposed to the courts interfering in govt. functioning, but this is one case where I feel the courts need to suo moto intervene and introduce a clause of heavy penalties in every contract with every public contractor. If his handiwork shows flaws and weaknesses within the first year of it’s construction, not only must he repair it at his cost, but also pay a massive fine and be barred for at least 3 years from receiving any Govt. contracts. Only such punitive action will motivate govt. contractors to start delivering dependable goods. and services.