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Tag: Morbi bridge

  • Morbi bridge crash: Oreva Group offers to pay Rs 5 crore compensation to victims 

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Clock manufacturing firm Oreva Group on Tuesday made an offer before the Gujarat High Court to pay an ‘interim’ compensation totalling Rs 5 crore to the kin of those who lost their lives and people left injured when a British-era suspension bridge maintained and operated by the firm collapsed in Morbi town in October last year.

    However, the court said the compensation offered by the company was not “just”.

    The suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 persons and injuring 56 others.

    The assurance on ‘interim’ compensation was given in the HC by Ajanta Manufacturing Ltd (Oreva Group) during hearing of a suo motu (on its own) PIL admitted last year following the tragedy.

    Senior advocate Nirupam Nanavaty, appearing for Oreva Group, told the court if the compensation is broadly divided among the affected persons, the kin of the deceased should get nearly Rs 3.5 lakh while the injured will get Rs 1 lakh each, which according to the HC, was not “just”.

    “Is it just? You volunteered to pay a just compensation.

    Is it just according to you? This is not near to just compensation,” noted a division bench of Chief Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Sandeep Bhatt.

    The bench posted the further hearing on Wednesday and asked Nanavaty to take instructions from his client on whether the company would pay more compensation in the future because this payout has been termed as “not final”.

    The bench had earlier made it clear that Oreva’s offer of compensation “will not absolve it of any liability”.

    Oreva Group, led by its MD Jaysukh Patel, was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the bridge with a special investigation team (SIT) formed by the state government citing several lapses on the part of the firm.

    Nanavaty informed the court that the amount of Rs 5 crore is “ad-hoc” and “interim”.

    He said Oreva Group “will deposit Rs 5 crore to the Gujarat government within two weeks and state can determine what amount is to be paid to the injured or to the kin of the deceased” Moreover, the corporate entity has taken full responsibility for seven children who have lost both their parents in the tragedy, said Nanavaty.

    These seven children will get all the required facilities such as residence and education, till they become majors.

    The company would also give them jobs as per their qualifications, said the senior advocate.

    Advocate General Kamal Trivedi informed the court that the state as well as the Centre have so far paid a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to each injured person.

    The Morbi police have arrested ten accused, including Oreva Group MD Jaysukh Patel, under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and under 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing rash or negligent act).

    AHMEDABAD: Clock manufacturing firm Oreva Group on Tuesday made an offer before the Gujarat High Court to pay an ‘interim’ compensation totalling Rs 5 crore to the kin of those who lost their lives and people left injured when a British-era suspension bridge maintained and operated by the firm collapsed in Morbi town in October last year.

    However, the court said the compensation offered by the company was not “just”.

    The suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 persons and injuring 56 others.

    The assurance on ‘interim’ compensation was given in the HC by Ajanta Manufacturing Ltd (Oreva Group) during hearing of a suo motu (on its own) PIL admitted last year following the tragedy.

    Senior advocate Nirupam Nanavaty, appearing for Oreva Group, told the court if the compensation is broadly divided among the affected persons, the kin of the deceased should get nearly Rs 3.5 lakh while the injured will get Rs 1 lakh each, which according to the HC, was not “just”.

    “Is it just? You volunteered to pay a just compensation.

    Is it just according to you? This is not near to just compensation,” noted a division bench of Chief Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Sandeep Bhatt.

    The bench posted the further hearing on Wednesday and asked Nanavaty to take instructions from his client on whether the company would pay more compensation in the future because this payout has been termed as “not final”.

    The bench had earlier made it clear that Oreva’s offer of compensation “will not absolve it of any liability”.

    Oreva Group, led by its MD Jaysukh Patel, was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the bridge with a special investigation team (SIT) formed by the state government citing several lapses on the part of the firm.

    Nanavaty informed the court that the amount of Rs 5 crore is “ad-hoc” and “interim”.

    He said Oreva Group “will deposit Rs 5 crore to the Gujarat government within two weeks and state can determine what amount is to be paid to the injured or to the kin of the deceased” Moreover, the corporate entity has taken full responsibility for seven children who have lost both their parents in the tragedy, said Nanavaty.

    These seven children will get all the required facilities such as residence and education, till they become majors.

    The company would also give them jobs as per their qualifications, said the senior advocate.

    Advocate General Kamal Trivedi informed the court that the state as well as the Centre have so far paid a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to each injured person.

    The Morbi police have arrested ten accused, including Oreva Group MD Jaysukh Patel, under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and under 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing rash or negligent act).

  • Corroded wires, welded suspenders behind Morbi bridge tragedy: SIT in preliminary probe report

    By PTI

    MORBI: Gujarat government-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has found in its preliminary probe that corrosion on nearly half of the wires on a cable and welding of old suspenders with new ones were some of the major faults that led to the collapse of the suspension bridge in Morbi last year in which 135 people were killed.

    These findings are part of the ‘Preliminary Report on Morbi Bridge Incident’ submitted by the five-member SIT in December 2022.

    The report was recently shared with the Morbi Municipality by the state Urban Development Department.

    Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchu river that collapsed on October 30 last year.

    The SIT had found several lapses in repairs, maintenance and operation of the bridge.

    IAS officer Rajkumar Beniwal, IPS officer Subhash Trivedi, a secretary and a chief engineer from the state Roads and Building Department and a professor of structural engineering were members of the SIT.

    The SIT noted that of the two main cables of the bridge, built by the erstwhile rulers in 1887 over river Machchhu, one cable was having issues of corrosion and nearly half of its wires “may be already broken” even before the cable snapped on October 30 evening.

    According to the SIT, the main cable on the upstream side of the river snapped, leading to the tragedy.

    Each cable was formed by seven strands, each comprising seven steel wires.

    A total of 49 wires were clubbed together in seven strands to form this cable, the SIT report said.

    “It was observed that out of the 49 wires (of that cable), 22 were corroded, which indicates that those wires may have already broken before the incident. The remaining 27 wires recently broke,” the SIT said in its report.

    The SIT also found that during the renovation work, “old suspenders (steel rods which connect the cable with the platform deck) were welded with the new suspenders. Hence the behaviour of suspenders changed. In these types of bridges, single rod suspenders should be used to bear the load”.

    Notably, the Morbi Municipality, without the approval of the general board, had awarded the contract to maintain and operate the bridge to Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Limited), which closed the bridge in March 2022 for renovation and opened it on October 26 without any prior approval or inspection.

    According to the SIT, there were nearly 300 persons on the bridge at the time of the collapse, which was “far more” than the load-bearing capacity of the bridge.

    It, however, said the actual capacity of the bridge will be confirmed by laboratory reports.

    The probe report also pointed out that replacing individual wooden planks with an aluminium deck also played a role in the collapse.

    “Walking structure was made up of rigid aluminium panels instead of flexible wooden planks.

    If there were individual wooden planks (which were there before renovation), the number of casualties could have been lower.

    Moreover, no load test or structure test was conducted before opening the bridge,” it added.

    The aluminium honeycomb panels were fixed without any gap in between, which makes the deck less flexible to deform in its own plane, said the SIT, adding that the use of aluminium could have increased the overall weight of the bridge too.

    Morbi police have already arrested ten accused, including Oreva Group’s MD Jaysukh Patel, under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and under 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing rash or negligent act).

    MORBI: Gujarat government-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has found in its preliminary probe that corrosion on nearly half of the wires on a cable and welding of old suspenders with new ones were some of the major faults that led to the collapse of the suspension bridge in Morbi last year in which 135 people were killed.

    These findings are part of the ‘Preliminary Report on Morbi Bridge Incident’ submitted by the five-member SIT in December 2022.

    The report was recently shared with the Morbi Municipality by the state Urban Development Department.

    Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchu river that collapsed on October 30 last year.

    The SIT had found several lapses in repairs, maintenance and operation of the bridge.

    IAS officer Rajkumar Beniwal, IPS officer Subhash Trivedi, a secretary and a chief engineer from the state Roads and Building Department and a professor of structural engineering were members of the SIT.

    The SIT noted that of the two main cables of the bridge, built by the erstwhile rulers in 1887 over river Machchhu, one cable was having issues of corrosion and nearly half of its wires “may be already broken” even before the cable snapped on October 30 evening.

    According to the SIT, the main cable on the upstream side of the river snapped, leading to the tragedy.

    Each cable was formed by seven strands, each comprising seven steel wires.

    A total of 49 wires were clubbed together in seven strands to form this cable, the SIT report said.

    “It was observed that out of the 49 wires (of that cable), 22 were corroded, which indicates that those wires may have already broken before the incident. The remaining 27 wires recently broke,” the SIT said in its report.

    The SIT also found that during the renovation work, “old suspenders (steel rods which connect the cable with the platform deck) were welded with the new suspenders. Hence the behaviour of suspenders changed. In these types of bridges, single rod suspenders should be used to bear the load”.

    Notably, the Morbi Municipality, without the approval of the general board, had awarded the contract to maintain and operate the bridge to Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Limited), which closed the bridge in March 2022 for renovation and opened it on October 26 without any prior approval or inspection.

    According to the SIT, there were nearly 300 persons on the bridge at the time of the collapse, which was “far more” than the load-bearing capacity of the bridge.

    It, however, said the actual capacity of the bridge will be confirmed by laboratory reports.

    The probe report also pointed out that replacing individual wooden planks with an aluminium deck also played a role in the collapse.

    “Walking structure was made up of rigid aluminium panels instead of flexible wooden planks.

    If there were individual wooden planks (which were there before renovation), the number of casualties could have been lower.

    Moreover, no load test or structure test was conducted before opening the bridge,” it added.

    The aluminium honeycomb panels were fixed without any gap in between, which makes the deck less flexible to deform in its own plane, said the SIT, adding that the use of aluminium could have increased the overall weight of the bridge too.

    Morbi police have already arrested ten accused, including Oreva Group’s MD Jaysukh Patel, under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and under 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing rash or negligent act).

  • Rusty cables, loose bolts tell shoddy tale of Morbi bridge renovation, other lapses: Probe

    Police have so far arrested nine persons including four from the Oreva group that was managing the British-era suspension bridge, which collapsed on October 30.

  • Morbi bridge collpase: Only floor changed, not its cables

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD:  The ongoing probe into the Morbi bridge tragedy prima facie found a series of lapses in its renovation, including failure to carry out its structural audit, poor choice of materials and the absence of an emergency rescue and evacuation plan. 

    Public prosecutor Harsendu Panchal flagged them to press for remand of all the nine accused arrested in the case. But Chief Judicial Magistrate M J Khan remanded four of them two managers of the Oreva group and two sub-contractors who had repaired the bridge in police custody till Saturday.

    Panchal told this newspaper on Wednesday that prima facie the cables of the bridge were left untouched; only its wooden flooring was replaced with aluminum sheet. “The cables could have given way due to the additional weight of aluminum. It is a matter of investigation,” he said he told the court on Tuesday.

    Additional Public Prosecutor Morbi Harshendu Panchal said the contract was awarded to Oreva, which assigned it to two unqualified persons. This was the third time Oreva bagged its renovation and maintenance contract.

    A forensics lab (FSL) report submitted in court said the four main cables of the bridge were old. “In the FSL report, IO (Investigating Officer) said that the cable (of bridge) was rusting away. Prima facie, FSL officer says that it was an old cable. IO says only flooring of the bridge and not the cables were changed. Oiling-greasing, too, wasn’t done. Besides, the contractors did not have the necessary domain knowhow,” Panchal said.

    Anchor pinDue to the extra weight of revellers, the anchor pin of the bridge at the Darbargarh end of the bridge broke. “The anchor pin capacity was 125, but more than 350 were on the bridge on Sunday when it the bridge gave way,” a police officer said

    AHMEDABAD:  The ongoing probe into the Morbi bridge tragedy prima facie found a series of lapses in its renovation, including failure to carry out its structural audit, poor choice of materials and the absence of an emergency rescue and evacuation plan. 

    Public prosecutor Harsendu Panchal flagged them to press for remand of all the nine accused arrested in the case. But Chief Judicial Magistrate M J Khan remanded four of them two managers of the Oreva group and two sub-contractors who had repaired the bridge in police custody till Saturday.

    Panchal told this newspaper on Wednesday that prima facie the cables of the bridge were left untouched; only its wooden flooring was replaced with aluminum sheet. “The cables could have given way due to the additional weight of aluminum. It is a matter of investigation,” he said he told the court on Tuesday.

    Additional Public Prosecutor Morbi Harshendu Panchal said the contract was awarded to Oreva, which assigned it to two unqualified persons. This was the third time Oreva bagged its renovation and maintenance contract.

    A forensics lab (FSL) report submitted in court said the four main cables of the bridge were old. “In the FSL report, IO (Investigating Officer) said that the cable (of bridge) was rusting away. Prima facie, FSL officer says that it was an old cable. IO says only flooring of the bridge and not the cables were changed. Oiling-greasing, too, wasn’t done. Besides, the contractors did not have the necessary domain knowhow,” Panchal said.

    Anchor pin
    Due to the extra weight of revellers, the anchor pin of the bridge at the Darbargarh end of the bridge broke. “The anchor pin capacity was 125, but more than 350 were on the bridge on Sunday when it the bridge gave way,” a police officer said

  • Supreme Court to hear PIL for judicial probe into Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would list for hearing on November 14 a PIL seeking constitution of a judicial commission to probe the Morbi bridge collapse incident in Gujarat.

    According to the latest reports, the death toll in the collapse of the British-era bridge on Sunday on the Machchhu river in Morbi in Gujarat has gone up to 134 people.

    “You are very quick. What are your prayers,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi said when lawyer Vishal Tiwari mentioned his PIL on the issue for urgent hearing.

    “I am seeking a judicial enquiry by a panel headed by a former Supreme Court judge,” the lawyer said.

    The bench then said that the PIL would be listed for hearing on November 14.

    WATCH|

    Tiwari, in the PIL, said the accident leading to the collapse of the bridge resulting in more than 134 casualties, depicted the negligence and utter failure of government authorities.

    From the past decade, various incidents have taken place in our country wherein due to the mismanagement, lapse in duty, negligent maintenance activities, there have been cases of huge public casualties which could have been avoided, the PIL said.

    The more than a century-old bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, had reopened five days ago after extensive repairs and renovation.

    It was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6.30 pm on Sunday.

    The death toll in the bridge collapse incident has gone up to 134, a senior police officer said.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would list for hearing on November 14 a PIL seeking constitution of a judicial commission to probe the Morbi bridge collapse incident in Gujarat.

    According to the latest reports, the death toll in the collapse of the British-era bridge on Sunday on the Machchhu river in Morbi in Gujarat has gone up to 134 people.

    “You are very quick. What are your prayers,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi said when lawyer Vishal Tiwari mentioned his PIL on the issue for urgent hearing.

    “I am seeking a judicial enquiry by a panel headed by a former Supreme Court judge,” the lawyer said.

    The bench then said that the PIL would be listed for hearing on November 14.

    WATCH|

    Tiwari, in the PIL, said the accident leading to the collapse of the bridge resulting in more than 134 casualties, depicted the negligence and utter failure of government authorities.

    From the past decade, various incidents have taken place in our country wherein due to the mismanagement, lapse in duty, negligent maintenance activities, there have been cases of huge public casualties which could have been avoided, the PIL said.

    The more than a century-old bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, had reopened five days ago after extensive repairs and renovation.

    It was crammed with people when it collapsed around 6.30 pm on Sunday.

    The death toll in the bridge collapse incident has gone up to 134, a senior police officer said.