Saved the criminals of Morbi: The one who used the bridge as his property, not even his name in the FIR; guard-labourer arrested

The death toll has risen to 141 after the Machhu river cable bridge collapsed in Morbi, Gujarat. Among them are more than 50 children. Amidst these frightening figures of death, the game of saving those responsible for this incident has also started. On Monday, the 9 people arrested by the police, in this case, include two managers of Orewa, two laborers, three security guards, and two ticket clerks.

In the FIR of the police, there is neither mention of Orewa Company, which earns money by operating the bridge, nor Devprakash Solutions, which is engaged in renovation work. The engineers of Morbi Municipality, responsible for monitoring the bridge, are also not named in it. That is, the government is patting its back by only holding small employees responsible for the accident.

The hallmark of how serious the officers are about this accident that took 141 lives in one stroke is that the five officers, whose committee was formed by the state government to investigate, also completed their investigation in just 25 minutes. Let us tell you in a sequential manner who are the culprits of the Morbi accident...

Focus on profits in the agreement, away from responsibilities

Dainik Bhaskar has a copy of the agreement signed on 6 March 2022 between Orewa Company and Morbi Municipality to operate the suspension bridge. In the agreement on stamp paper of Rs 300, it is written that when the company will be able to increase the ticket rate, how will it be able to use the bridge commercially and there will be no interference from government agencies. The three-page agreement does not mention who will be responsible in the event of an accident.

Sell ​​expensive tickets by breaking the terms of the agreement

According to Orewa's agreement with Morbi municipality, the bridge was to be opened after the repairs were completed. Till March 2023, there was a provision to take a ticket of Rs 15 from adults and Rs 10 from children till March 2023. From the year 2023-24, the ticket was to be increased by Rs 2 every year, but Orewa started selling tickets of Rs 17 for adults and Rs 12 for children to earn more profit as soon as the bridge opened.

The name of the municipality is not even mentioned in the ticket.

According to the rules, when government property is given to a private company for operation, the ownership of it remains with the government entity. For example, private companies collect tolls on the highway, but the receipt is issued only in the name of the National Highway Authority. This was not the case with the suspension bridge at Morbi. Morbi Municipality was not even mentioned on both the bridge or the ticket.

Didn't see the anchor pin on which the bridge rested

The Morbi tragedy is technically the result of gross negligence. Two crore rupees The bridge was decorated with but not strengthened the important part 'anchor pin' which carries the load of the bridge. Due to this, the anchor pin of the bridge on the side of Darbargarh got uprooted and the accident happened.

The anchor pin is the part that holds the bridge hanging on the cables from either side. The anchor pin of Morbi bridge has a capacity of 125 persons, but more than 350 persons were allowed entry on Sunday. The contractors and government engineers did not notice that the bridge is 140 years old. Its anchor pins were not capable of handling that much load.

7 months renovation, did not see the foundation at the cost of 2 crores

To investigate this, information was obtained from expert structural engineers as well as local engineers, which revealed that there were two anchor pins on either side of the suspension bridge. The bridge is attached to this pin and is considered to be the foundation. This anchor pin was ignored when the renovation was done. The focus was only on decoration, rather than spending on how strong the old bridge's foundation is and how much work to do.

Also Read: Morbi Bridge: How did the company making 'Ajanta watch' get the responsibility of repair, was there any mistake in it?