Express News Service
AHMEDABAD: A Special Investigation Team probing the collapse of a bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi town last year informed the High Court on Tuesday that there were “serious operational and technical lapses” on the part of the Oreva company’s management.
The lackadaisical approach on the part of the management of the company resulting in “one of the most severe and tragic human calamities” cannot be countenanced, the SIT said. “For this, prima facie, the whole management of the company, including its managing director and two managers appear to be responsible,” it said.
The British-era suspension bridge on the Machchu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 people and injuring 56 others. The Morbi Nagarpalika gave the repair work of the bridge to Oreva company, which assigned it to a “non-competent agency,” and the work was carried out “without consulting technical experts,” the SIT said.
It also found several design faults in the bridge post-renovation works, contributing to its collapse. “Various steps taken in carrying out the repair works of the bridge could have been avoided by better steps had the company taken the help of a professional expert agency in the field,” according to the report.
The report filed before the court by Advocate General Kamal Trivedi says the Oreva company should have received its fitness assessment and consulted the municipality on this matter even after the repair was completed.
According to SIT, after the contract between the Oreva Group and Morbi municipality for bridge maintenance and operation was renewed, the company failed to seek technical advice from an expert agency or consult the civic body before awarding the contract to one Dev Prakash Solutions to carry out major repair work.
It said there were no restrictions on the number of people who could cross the bridge at any given moment or on the sale of tickets. According to the report, the Oreva Group addressed many letters to authorities worried about the bridge’s deteriorating condition after the initial MoU it had signed with local authorities for its maintenance and operation expired.
AHMEDABAD: A Special Investigation Team probing the collapse of a bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi town last year informed the High Court on Tuesday that there were “serious operational and technical lapses” on the part of the Oreva company’s management.
The lackadaisical approach on the part of the management of the company resulting in “one of the most severe and tragic human calamities” cannot be countenanced, the SIT said. “For this, prima facie, the whole management of the company, including its managing director and two managers appear to be responsible,” it said.
The British-era suspension bridge on the Machchu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 people and injuring 56 others. The Morbi Nagarpalika gave the repair work of the bridge to Oreva company, which assigned it to a “non-competent agency,” and the work was carried out “without consulting technical experts,” the SIT said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
It also found several design faults in the bridge post-renovation works, contributing to its collapse. “Various steps taken in carrying out the repair works of the bridge could have been avoided by better steps had the company taken the help of a professional expert agency in the field,” according to the report.
The report filed before the court by Advocate General Kamal Trivedi says the Oreva company should have received its fitness assessment and consulted the municipality on this matter even after the repair was completed.
According to SIT, after the contract between the Oreva Group and Morbi municipality for bridge maintenance and operation was renewed, the company failed to seek technical advice from an expert agency or consult the civic body before awarding the contract to one Dev Prakash Solutions to carry out major repair work.
It said there were no restrictions on the number of people who could cross the bridge at any given moment or on the sale of tickets. According to the report, the Oreva Group addressed many letters to authorities worried about the bridge’s deteriorating condition after the initial MoU it had signed with local authorities for its maintenance and operation expired.
