The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday ordered Oreva Company to pay Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the 135 people who lost their lives in the Morbi bridge accident. The court also ordered the company to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation to those who sustained injuries in the incident. The amount is in addition to Rs 10 lakh already paid by the state government. The company was responsible for the maintenance, operations as well as renovation of the bridge.
Jaysukhbhai Patel, MD of the company, through his lawyer, had offered to pay Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to those injured.
On October 30, 2022, the pedestrian suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in the city of Morbi collapsed. The mishap caused the death of at least 135 people and injuries to more than 180 others.
Interestingly, the 19th-century bridge had reopened five days earlier after remaining closed for repairs. Over 500 people were present on the bridge at the time of the collapse, way more than the capacity of the walkway of 125.
A video clip of the bridge showed the structure shaking violently and people holding onto cables and fencing on either side of the bridge before it collapsed. At its midpoint, the walkway had divided…with some pieces still hanging from snapped cables.
The Teams of the State Disaster Response Force Gujarat along with the National Disaster Response Force started rescue operations. Later, they were joined by Army, Air Force, and Navy staff.
The bridge, initial reports said, was reopened early after repairs, without the required certificate of fitness from the local civic authorities. In court, a forensic report presented said that the bridge could not withstand the weight of the new heavy flooring given the cables were rusted.
The Government of Gujarat, formed a five-member committee to investigate and determine the cause. Nine people (all associated with the Oreva group) were arrested.
An FIR was filed against the maintenance and management agencies of the bridge under sections 308 (intentional act causing death), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and 114 (abettor present when offense committed) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).