Why Morbi bridge collapsed
The death toll from the collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi on Sunday has touched 135, and Deepak Parekh, one of the managers of the firm responsible for the maintenance of the bridge, has told a lower court: ‘It was the will of God that such an unfortunate event happened.’ Evidently, from the point of view of those being held accountable for the tragedy, the buck stops with God — but clearly, it is only a feeble attempt to absolve the firm and its personnel of wrongdoing. From the facts that have emerged regarding the repair and maintenance of the bridge, it is evident that grave mistakes — criminal acts! — by human beings caused this horrible tragedy.
Preliminary investigations by the Morbi police showed that an iron cable that snapped, leading to the collapse of the bridge, was rusted. Though the bridge had been closed for repairs for months, only the ‘platform (deck) was changed’, according to the police. It was thrown open to the public on October 26 ‘without determining permissible capacity, and without government approval’. An estimated 500 people were on the bridge when it collapsed, whereas no more than 150 people should have been on it at any time, according to experts. Finally, the contract for the ticketing (Rs 15 per adult) and maintenance of the bridge was given to a company with no expertise in structural engineering or construction. A day before the bridge was reopened, the owner of the firm — whose core business is clock-making — said Rs 2 crore had been spent on its renovation, and that ‘nothing will happen to the bridge for the next 8-10 years’.
It’s evident that greed — to cash in on the celebrations during Diwali and the Gujarati new year — led to the firm’s contractors allowing too many people on the bridge, which seems to have been given only a token facelift. These are the real reasons the bridge fell, claiming 135 lives. Those responsible for these reasons — including the local clock-making tycoon family, and not merely their hirelings — must be prosecuted and handed exemplary punishments.
