Mumbai, June 17 (UNI) Shiv Sena (UBT) launched a vehement critique of Maharashtra's Mahayuti government through its editorial mouthpiece 'Saamana' on Tuesday, condemning last week's fatal bridge collapse in Pune that claimed the lives of four tourists and injured 51 others, as "culpable homicide" stemming from administrative negligence.

The editorial asserted that the tragedy resulted directly from authorities' failure to repair the dilapidated Indrayani River bridge despite allocated funds. "People with cruel hearts are ruling Maharashtra," stated the Thackeray faction, dismissing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's condolences, compensation announcements (Rs 5 lakh per deceased victim), and promised inquiry, as "a sham" and "crocodile tears".

Specifically targeting Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan – described as the CM's "close associate" – the editorial questioned: "Why put a price of 5 lakh on lives lost to government negligence? Why did these people die? Who will answer?" It revealed that while Rs 8 crore was approved for bridge reconstruction, the funds "remained on paper" as state coffers were allegedly drained by "politically beneficial schemes."

The piece further implicated Pune's Guardian Minister and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, noting the accident occurred in Maval constituency represented by his "close confidante" MLA Sunil Shelke. "The MLA spent over a hundred crore rupees to get elected but didn't see the dilapidated bridge in his own village," it charged.

Broadening its criticism, the editorial catalogued recent tragedies: fatalities in the Ahmedabad plane crash involving Maharashtrians, the Akola family killed in the Kedarnath helicopter crash, five youths drowned in the Godavari, and three tourists lost in Matheran's Charlotte Lake. It also highlighted structural concerns at the newly unveiled Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Malvan, where the platform developed cracks – following last year's collapse of the original statue – calling it a "failure of the Public Works Department."

Connecting these incidents, Shiv Sena (UBT) declared: "Railways, rivers, roads and air transport have all become unsafe... This raises questions over claims by those calling themselves 'Vikas Purush' (development champions) or people's saviors." The editorial concluded by criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three-nation tour amidst the Ahmedabad crash aftermath, paralleling it with state leaders' response: "The government wastes money on unnecessary projects but neglects critical infrastructure like the Indrayani bridge."

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