The over more than century-old bridge, which had reopened on October 26 after extensive repairs and renovation, collapsed around 6.30 pm on 30th October.
It has been reported that Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel rushed to the town of Morbi on the night of 30 October to inquire about the ongoing rescue operation after a bridge over the Machchhu river collapsed in the evening, claiming the lives of least 134 people and injuring others.
According to Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, the state government has formed a committee to probe the collapse. Over 350 people plunged into the river and there were speculations that the number might go up again.
The bridge was a European-style structure built by the Maharaja of Morbi Waghji Thakor, who decided to connect Darbargadh Palace with Nazarbag Palace 143 years ago. The bridge was inaugurated on February 20, 1879.
Eyewitness accounts note that there were many other men, women, and children on the century-old hanging bridge when the tragedy happened and some people were seen jumping on the bridge and pulling its big wires to save it from overcrowding. Many People formed a human chain to hold back crowds at the nearby local hospital and keep up the security operations.
Due to the ongoing festival celebration and Sunday weekday outings, many tourists were attracted to the newly opened site and got crammed at the same time.
A private operator had carried out the repair work of the bridge for nearly six months before it was opened to the public on the Gujarati New Year Day on October 26. Officials also reported that the local municipality had not yet issued any fitness certificate after the completion of the renovation work.
Official statistics are being revised again and again with PM Modi and Amit Shah expressing their sorrow for the losses incurred during the incident. The PM and the state government have announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. PM Modi will visit Morbi on Tuesday.
PM Narendra Modi, who is on Gujarat-Rajasthan three-day tour, has decided to cancel his roadshow to be held in Ahmedabad on Monday as he was briefed about the ongoing rescue operations. Sources claim that a “page committee sammelan”, scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Modi’s virtual presence, has been put off.
Meanwhile, other leaders like Arvind Kejriwal also canceled all the events in the state and The Congress also postponed its Gujarat Parivartan Sankalp Yatra in five zones of the poll-bound state. Numerous official teams have been mobilized for rescue works with teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), SDRF, Fire Brigade, Navy, and Air Force personnel being ordered to airlift and help people near the 10 feet deep river site area.
To prevent further loss of lives, a five-member high-powered committee has been formed to look into the matter and present a detailed finding. It includes senior officers like Roads and Buildings department secretary Sandeep Vasava, Rajkumar Beniwal, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner; K M Patel, chief engineer (quality control) in the road and building department in Gandhinagar; Dr. Gopal Tank, head of the department of structural engineering at LD Engineering College and Subhash Trivedi, CID (crime) Inspector General.
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Minister Harsh Sanghavi, after visiting Morbi hospital said that a criminal case will be registered against the contractor and management, who renovated the suspension bridge on the Machhu river. “IPC sections for Culpable Homicide Act which cause death committed intentionally and abettor will be invoked in the criminal complaint, the process is underway to lodge the complaint” said Sanghvi.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi appealed to their cadre in Gujarat to extend all possible assistance in rescue work at Morbi.
While the Morbi Bridge tragedy has shaken the roots of national development authorities, the nation’s attention should also be shifted to the various other old suspension bridges in India that are currently in use.
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