Five days after Vikramsinh Padhiyar from Narsingpura went “missing” after allegedly falling into the Mahisagar river, when a section of the bridge between Mujpur in Padra taluka of Vadodara district and Gambhira in Anand district collapsed, the bereaved family on Monday performed the final rites of the 22-year-old as the authorities are yet to retrieve the body from the river. Relatives of Vikramsinh arrived at the Mahisagar riverbank with a symbolic effigy and performed the last rites for “closure”. The authorities have also begun the process to hand over the compensation to the family. Vikramsinh's brothers, father and grandfather performed the symbolic rites even as his two-wheeler, which he was riding through the segment that collapsed, lies on the riverbank, having been recovered from the water. While members of Padhiyar's family did not wish to speak about their grief, a local villager and distant relative, Arjunsinh Padhiyar, said, “He had celebrated his daughter's first birthday on June 20. We never imagined we would lose him in this manner. His wife has been numb and inconsolable since the day of the incident. His mother, too, is devastated. The decision to perform the final rites was taken as the authorities advised the family that it might be difficult to retrieve the body after so many days as it could have been swept away if it is not found under the girder.” On Monday, the administration continued the rescue operations for the sixth day. Attempts were also made to split the girder in order to make it easier to remove the concrete slab from the river. The administration also created a temporary boundary to block the exposed segment of the bridge in order to prevent unsuspecting motorists from driving into the river. Vadodara District Collector Anil Dhameliya said, “We have recovered 20 bodies and have also undertaken the work of handing out the compensation to the families. In the case of the one missing person, whose body has not yet been recovered, a special committee of the district administration has started the process of handing over compensation to the family. Since it has been six days, we are not sure if the body will be found now although the NDRF and SDRF teams are continuously at it.” The authorities have also recovered two trucks, a pick-up van, an eeco car, an auto rickshaw and three motorcycles from the river — all of which had plunged when the segment collapsed on June 9.
