Viral image showing dilapidated bridge with holes is from Bangladesh, not India

What’s the claim?

An image of a crumbling bridge with three large holes exposing iron mesh is circulating widely on social media. This image is being used to criticize infrastructure development in India compared to that in China.

Manish Kashyap, a YouTuber from Bihar known for spreading misinformation, shared the image on social media. His post included a Hindi caption that read: "The Chinese were proud after building a glass bridge. We built a bridge of mesh along with glass." 

In the post, he mocked India’s infrastructure development, comparing it to China’s glass bridges and linking the deteriorating bridge in the image to India. Archived versions of his posts can be found here, here, and here.

Logically Facts has previously debunked a claim by Kashyap where he inaccurately linked a video from Pakistan to India. The full fact-check is available here.

Screenshot of the viral claims. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the deteriorating bridge is not in India; it is actually located in Bangladesh.

What we found

A reverse image search led us to a report by Dainik Bayanno, a Bangladeshi news outlet, published on July 10, 2024. The report confirmed that the partially damaged bridge is located in Tepura village, Haldia Union of Amtali Upazila in Barguna district, Bangladesh.

The report also featured comments from a senior lecturer at Kalapara Muktijoddha Memorial Degree College, who occasionally uses the bridge. He noted that his family home is in Champapur Union and highlighted the bridge’s severely deteriorated condition.

Further research led us to an article from Kaler Kantho, another Bangladeshi news outlet, which featured a similar image of the bridge. The photo showed the same three holes where the concrete had collapsed, exposing the iron mesh. The outlet credited the image to its own reporting and confirmed that the bridge is located in Tepura village, Haldia Union of Amtali Upazila, Barguna.

Screenshot of the news report carrying a similar image showing the damaged bridge. (Source: KalerKantho)

We also found a Facebook post by the group 'Deshi Biker' (archived here) that shared the same image, attributing it to "Jitu Sarker." Our investigation traced Sarker to a Facebook post (archived here) dated June 24, which indicated the bridge’s location as ‘Barishal.’ We have contacted him for further comments on the actual location of the bridge.

The verdict

The widely shared image of a damaged bridge, wrongly attributed to India, actually depicts a bridge in Tepura village, Bangladesh.