PM Modi to visit tragedy-struck Morbi tomorrow, Congress seeks judicial probe

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 31

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the tragedy-struck Morbi in Gujarat on Tuesday to take stock of the mishap that has so far killed 134 people, and counting.

A Gujarat CMO statement said PM Modi will visit Morbi on the afternoon of November 1.

The PM earlier on Monday morning said he had never felt the kind of pain he felt over the humongous tragedy.The PM added that pain aside, he had a duty to perform. He was addressing Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations at Gujarat's Kevadia to mark the birth anniversary of iron man and India's first home minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.

Meanwhile, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and state home minister Harsh Sanghavi were in Morbi all night to oversee rescue operation after an over a century-old British-era bridge collapsed, taking down hundreds of people who had gathered on it despite safety protocols permitting only 150 people on the bridge at a time.

The casualties are changing, a National Disaster Relief Force personnel said.

As of now, the toll in the bridge collapse incident is 134, according to Rajkot Range Inspector General Ashok Yadav.

Rescue operation is under way.

The state information department said five teams of the National Disaster Response Force, six platoons of the State Disaster Response Force, a team of the Air Force, two columns of the Army, and two teams of the Indian Navy apart from local rescue teams were involved in the operation that continued through the night.

Meanwhile, the Congress demanded a judicial probe into the mishap considering the bridge was opened on October 26 (Gujarati New Year) after seven months of closure for repairs.

"This is no time for politics but is critical to fix responsibility in the matter," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a statement.

Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi also expressed deep condolences even as Kharge demanded appropriate medical treatment for the injured and intensive search operation to rescue the missing.

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