SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir witnessed three major National Highway bridge failures this year, all triggered by unprecedented rainfall, flash floods and massive hill collapse events, according to details tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The data reinforces growing concerns over the vulnerability of the Union territory’s highway network in disaster-prone terrain.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways confirmed that bridges on National Highway 44 at Khaderu (km 27.700), Devak (km 77.200) and Tharad (km 71.100) were severely damaged during extreme weather episodes in August 25. At Khaderu and Devak, piers settled and multiple spans collapsed following flash floods. At Tharad, a massive hill mass measuring roughly 300m by 550m came down after continuous heavy rainfall and a cloudburst in Udhampur district, taking out the highway stretch.
In a detailed statement laid on the Table of the House, the Government acknowledged that the Himalayan and Western Ghat regions are especially susceptible to large-scale highway damage during the monsoon due to landslides, hill slips and river surges. It said that, apart from natural triggers, National Highways have also suffered damage in some cases because of design flaws, non-compliance with construction standards and unscientific execution. To curb such collapses, the Ministry outlined a series of measures being implemented. These include mandatory slope studies and widened geological investigations in Detailed Project Reports, new parameters for hill-slope stability checks, a phased construction method that completes hill cutting and slope protection before highway building, and sensor-based monitoring of internal slope disturbances on two pilot stretches.
The Government said sustainable bio-engineering solutions such as coir and jute mat hydroseeding, bamboo piling and Vetiver grass plantation are being used increasingly to stabilise slopes in vulnerable zones. A research project with IIT Roorkee is under way to develop guidelines for real-time monitoring of hill-slope instability.
Nationwide, the annexed data shows multiple bridge collapses reported across Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, Manipur and Meghalaya between 2024 and 2025. Causes ranged from cloudbursts and sudden river surges to overloaded vehicles, improper scaffolding, staging failures and gaps in supervision.
