A day after the Supreme Court called the bridge collapse in Gujarat’s Morbi an “enormous tragedy”, a forensic probe report on Tuesday revealed that 3,165 tickets were sold to people on October 30, the day of the accident. It also said the cables were rusted and the bridge’s anchors were broken. According to an NDTV report, a government lawyer presented the report at a district court, saying load-bearing capacity of the bridge that was originally built over a century ago, was not properly assessed.
The forensic probe report has brought the Oreva Group under scanner, the company responsible for maintenance operation and security of the suspension bridge. The bridge built during British era, saw a tragic accident last month, that killed over 140 people. Hours after the collapse, Police had arrested 9 people in the case. They were charged for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other relevant sections.
Even the bolts that connected the cables with the anchors were loose, the report said. After the accident. preliminary probe had suggested that the old cables could not take the load of a new, heavy flooring.
The Morbi municipality had informed Gujarat High Court that the bridge was reopened by the company without any prior approval and without informing the civic body about the repair work carried out. It was in violation of the 2022 agreement between the civic body and the firm, that said the bridge will only be opened after it is “appropriately renovated”, the civic body had said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain two petitions which sought for independent probe into the tragedy. The Court however granted liberty to the petitioners to approach the High Court to raise their issues, either by ling an independent writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution or by intervening in the suo motu case.
SC also asked the Gujarat High Court to periodically monitor the probe and other aspects including rehabilitation and award of “dignified” compensation to the victims, a PTI report said
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli also turned down the submissions that a Commission of Inquiry be appointed to ensure that incidents like the Morbi collapse do not happen again.
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