Restoration work underway after the recently constructed bridge over the Tons River, damaged following the rains at Nanda Ki Chowki in the Prem Nagar area, in Dehradun on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)Sixteen days after a Rs 16-crore bridge was opened to the public in Dehradun, part of the road approaching it caved in on Tuesday, creating a massive crater just ahead of the bridge.The bridge in Nanda Chowki over the Tons River was opened to the public on July 12. District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan said he instructed officials of the Public Works Department to repair the damaged portion and restore traffic within three hours.He also directed that action be taken against the official concerned for negligence. It was found that due to heavy rainfall, soil had been washed away from beneath the approach road, leading to the collapse.The area is on the stretch connecting Uttarakhand’s capital to Himachal Pradesh.The Opposition Congress has accused the BJP government of corruption, alleging that the collapse was the result of scams. “The bridge was constructed at Rs 16 crore, and the government has swallowed the money. Everything has been swallowed up — bricks, stones, mortar, gravel, cement, steel reinforcement bars, and even the offerings made at Ram Mandir, Kedarnath, and Badrinath have all been siphoned off,” said Congress’s Suryakant Dhasmana, who was leading a sit-in protest at the site. The party leader also sought the dismissal of PWD Minister Satpal Maharaj.BJP का ‘करप्शन मॉडल’ pic.twitter.com/3zIUB2l5Io— Congress (@INCIndia) July 28, 2026Rajesh Chandra, the Head of the Department at PWD, said water entered the structure, creating a vacuum and a cavity beneath the approach road. “The project cost is Rs 16 crore. We expect to fill the affected cavity within the next couple of hours, after which restoration work will continue,” he said.The reconstruction of the road was prompted after it was washed away on September 16, 2025, when Dehradun was hit by massive floods. “The stretch, operated by the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India), was handed over to us for repair,” Chandra said.He also said the damage is estimated at around Rs 2 lakh. “The repair cost will be borne entirely by the contractor, Himalayan Construction. Since the project is still within the defect liability period, the contractor is contractually obligated to carry out the repair and restoration work at its own expense,” he added.Aiswarya Raj is a Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, covering Uttarakhand. She brings sound journalistic experience to her role, having started her career at the organisation as a sub-editor with the Delhi city team. She subsequently developed her reporting expertise by covering Gurugram and its neighbouring districts before transitioning to her current role as a resident correspondent in Dehradun. She is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) and the University of Kerala. She has reported on the state politics, governance, environment and wildlife, and gender. Aiswarya has undertaken investigations using the Right to Information Act on law enforcement, public policy and procurement rules in Uttarakhand. She has also attempted narrative journalism on socio-economic matters affecting local communities. This specific, sustained focus on critical regional news provides the necessary foundation for high trustworthiness and authoritativeness on topics concerning Uttarakhand. ... Read More Tags:bridge collapseDehradun