Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a ‘detailed and extensive’ probe into the Morbi Bridge collapse that killed nearly 135 people follows the revelation of at least five key lapses that led to the accident.
A rushed renovation job to open the bridge early; unqualified sub-contractors deputed for execution; the addition of aluminum layers to the floor of the bridge — which added to its weight — but failure to strengthen cables; unregulated entry which led to far more people on the bridge on the fateful day than the weight it could take; and absence of an emergency rescue or evacuation plan — these are the five lapses that have emerged in the inquiry so far, top sources in the government told News18.
Sources in the government said it is upon this briefing by officials that the PM asked for the inquiry to “identify all aspects” behind the mishap and implement key learnings from the inquiry so that there is no repeat of such an accident. The inquiry will also cover the role of the Morbi Municipality in awarding the contract to the Oreva Group for the renovation of the bridge and an apparent lack of supervision of the same by officials as the firm had sub-contracted the work.
In all, it was a series of these five lapses that formed a deadly cocktail leading to the mishap:
Rushed Job: The bridge was opened earlier than envisioned to cash in on the Gujarati New Year and festive rush, indicating the job was not thorough. While the original plan was for the bridge to be opened in December, the same opened in the last week of October to coincide with the Gujarati New Year on October 26. The primary ‘load test’ was not done to test the strength of the bridge and hence, no fitness certificate was sought from the authorities.
Weight Issue: During the renovation, the flooring of the bridge was redone with four aluminum layers that added weight to the bridge. However, the cables were not strengthened or replaced but merely painted to give them a new look. This meant the bridge became heavier than before with the cables struggling to support it in the eventuality of higher footfall — as it happened on the fateful day.
Unqualified Sub-Contractors: While the Oreva Group had handled the bridge for long, this particular renovation job was sub-contracted by it to two other contractors who were apparently not qualified enough for the job. How the Oreva group was allowed to sub-contract the job and the apparent lack of supervision of the renovation assignment is also under the scanner now.
Unregulated Entry: While the bridge had already become heavy due to its new flooring, the entry of public to it was unregulated, with a few security guards posted there not stopping the excessive crowds from stepping onto the bridge. A large number of tickets were sold on the fateful day and far more people than the bridge’s capacity were on it when the cables snapped and the bridge collapsed. This aspect has led to arrests of the staff posted there.
No Rescue Plan: The Oreva Group did not have any rescue or emergency plan in place in case of a mishap. For example, there were hardly any boats with life jackets or diving staff posted at the bridge to rescue people in case of a collapse or someone falling off by accident. This may have led to the loss of precious time in rescuing people when the bridge collapsed and hundreds were plunged into the river below, including 50 children.
The police inquiry, with the help of engineers and top experts, is now looking deeply into all these aspects, and will soon come out with a report.
Read all the Latest India News here