Morbi disaster
The Morbi bridge collapse, one of India’s biggest man-made disasters in recent years, was a tragedy waiting to happen. In its preliminary probe report, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Gujarat Government has concluded that several lapses in the maintenance, repair and operation of the carriageway led to the accident on October 30, 2022, that claimed 135 lives. Among the major faults, the report mentions corrosion on nearly half of the wires on a cable and welding of old suspenders with new ones. The damning findings, submitted by the five-member SIT in December 2022, were recently shared by the state Urban Development Department with the Morbi municipality. Other grave lapses include indiscriminate sale of tickets to visitors, failure to restrict the number of persons traversing the bridge, and carrying out repairs without consulting technical experts.
The report is an indictment of the functioning of the Oreva Group, which was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river. Last month, the Gujarat High Court had agreed to Oreva’s offer to pay compensation to the families of the victims but hastened to add that disbursal of monetary relief would not absolve the group of its culpability. The municipality is at fault too for not exercising due diligence in its dealings with Oreva.
It is evident that criminal negligence led to the loss of scores of lives. The trial should be fast-tracked and concluded in a time-bound manner so that the aggrieved families promptly get compensation as well as justice. The long-drawn-out legal battle in the Uphaar fire case has shown how slowly and erratically the criminal justice system operates; there is a dire need to avoid a repeat of such tardiness that worsens the ordeal of the families. Notably, the SIT has recommended that a register should be maintained for all public structures, along with periodic audits and inspections to identify the unsafe ones. This is especially important for states where suspension bridges are being used heavily, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. A Morbi-like tragedy can be averted only if the standard operating procedure is firmed up and strictly enforced.
