morbi:
The public body of Gujarat’s Morbi has taken responsibility for the collapse of a suspension bridge in the city that killed more than 130 people last month, a document shows.
The Morbi Municipal Corporation argued in an affidavit before the Gujarat High Court that “the bridge should not have been opened”.
The bridge over the Machchhu River was closed for seven months for repairs. It was reopened to the public on October 26, the Gujarati New Year, without a fitness certificate from the civil authorities.
The Supreme Court came down hard on the civil body on Wednesday over its delay in filing an affidavit, detailing how the collapse happened, despite two notices.
When the case went to court on Wednesday morning, the court said it would impose a cost of Rs 1 lakh if the civil tribunal failed to file the affidavit the same evening.
The court on Tuesday asked for answers on how the contract to maintain the 150-year-old bridge was awarded to Oreva Group without issuing a tender.
It is alleged that the company did not replace the rusted cables, but installed a new floor that proved to be too heavy.
The Supreme Court asked about the basis on which the bridge was operated by the company after June 2017 “even if the contract (signed in 2008 for nine years) was not renewed”.
A new agreement was signed in March 2022 for a period of 15 years.
So far, only nine staff members of the company have been arrested, while top management, which signed the Rs 7-crore pact, has taken no action, nor have any officers been held accountable for reopening the bridge ahead of its renovation schedule.
The Supreme Court has summoned the head of the Morbi Municipal Corporation, Sandipsinh Zala, on November 24 when the case will next be heard.