Bridge

Morbi bridge case: HC asks Oreva to pay Rs 10 lakh to kin of each deceased

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday directed clock manufacturing firm Oreva Group, the company that maintained the Morbi suspension bridge which collapsed killing 135 people in October last year, to pay Rs 10 lakh as "interim" compensation to the kin of each deceased and Rs 2 lakh to each injured within four weeks. A division bench of Chief Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Sandeep Bhatt gave this direction to the company. The British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town collapsed on October 30 last year, killing 135 persons and injuring 56 others. The court ordered the company that the kin of each deceased and every injured person be paid interim compensation of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively, within four weeks. On Tuesday, during a hearing of a suo motu (on its own) PIL admitted last year following the tragedy, Ajanta Manufacturing Ltd (Oreva Group) had offered to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the kin of those who died and Rs 1 lakh to the injured ...

22 of 49 cables of collapsed Morbi bridge found corroded: SIT report

The SIT report also states that proper testing of the main cable and vertical suspenders of the bridge was not carried out before commencement of repair work

Police files charge-sheet on Morbi bridge collapse case in Gujarat

Police on Friday filed a charge-sheet in the suspension bridge collapse incident that had occurred in Morbi town of Gujarat in October last year, in which 135 people were killed. The charge-sheet, which runs into more than 1,200 pages, was filed in the Morbi sessions court by Deputy Superintendent of Police P S Zala, who is the investigating officer of the case. In addition to the nine accused who are already behind bars, Jaysukh Patel of Oreva Group, which used to operate the bridge, has been named as the tenth accused in the charge-sheet, sources said. A magistrate's court has already issued an arrest warrant against Jaysukh Patel in connection with the October 30, 2022 bridge collapse incident. His anticipatory bail plea will come up for hearing on February 1. Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river that had collapsed.

Director have to face criminal trial: Gujarat HC on Morbi bridge collapse

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday said that even if Oreva Group pays compensation to kith and kin of Morbi bridge collapse victims, criminal trial against its director will continue

Morbi bridge collapse: SC asks Gujarat HC to monitor probe periodically

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Gujarat High Court to periodically monitor the probe and other aspects related to the Morbi bridge collapse incident which claimed over 140 lives. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli said that as a division bench headed by the Gujarat High Court Chief Justice has already taken a suo motu note of the incident and has passed several orders, it will not hear the petitions as of now. It, however, permitted a PIL petitioner and another litigant, who lost his two relatives in the incident, to move the high court with their pleas seeking independent probe and award of dignified compensation to those who lost their family members. The top court also said that the petitioners may approach it later. The British-era bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30 leaving over 140 dead including 47 children.

Gadkari inaugurates 1.5 km long elevated bridge on Son river in Bihar

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday inaugurated a 1.5 km long 2-lane elevated RCC bridge near Panduka on Son river in Rohtas, Bihar at the cost of Rs.210 crore, said a press release by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.The foundation stone for the construction of the bridge was laid today in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Bihar BJP President Sanjay Jaiswal, Chhedi Paswan, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Ministers of Bihar Government and MPs, MLAs and officers.Speaking on the occasion Gadkari said with the construction of this bridge, NH-19 and NH-39 will be directly connected, facilitating traffic between Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. He said at present, a distance of 150 km has to be covered to reach Srinagar from Panduka in Rohtas district and Garhwa district of Jharkhand, with the construction of this bridge, four hours will be saved in this journey. The traffic pressure on the Dehri bridge will also reduce and Aurangabad, and Sasaram ...

Morbi bridge mishap: HC issues notice to state govt, seeks report by Nov 14

The Gujarat High Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy and issued notices to the state government and local authorities and also sought a status report in the matter by November 14. The British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30, claiming 135 lives. The bridge was thrown open for the public on October 26 after seven months of repair work by a private firm. "We have taken a suo motu (on their own) cognisance of the Morbi incident. But for the vacation, we would have sat on the same day itself," a division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Ashutosh Shastri said addressing Advocate General Kamal Trivedi who was present in the court. The bench took cognisance of the incident on the basis of a newspaper report. It issued notices to the state government through the chief secretary, state home department, commissioner of municipalities, Morbi municipality, district collector and the State Hum

Gujarat bridge tragedy: Search and recovery operations end, death toll 135

The Gujarat government on Thursday called off the five-day-long search operation launched after the collapse of a British-era suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi town of Gujarat and the death toll remained unchanged at 135. State Commissioner of Relief Harshad Patel visited Morbi, located around 300 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, and announced the end of the ongoing search operation, launched on Sunday evening soon after the suspension bridge came crashing down, said an official release. Patel chaired a meeting with heads of various agencies involved in the search and rescue operation and took a call to end the operation after reviewing the situation, it said. However, as a precautionary measure, one team each of the local fire brigade, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will remain stationed at the accident site until further orders, said the release. Notably, personnel from the Indian Army, the Navy, the .

Morbi bridge collapse a factor in delay in Gujarat poll announcement: CEC

The Morbi suspension bridge collapse was one of the reasons for the delay in announcement of the Gujarat assembly elections, the Election Commission said on Thursday. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar told a press conference that the commission would also examine whether the release of the inquiry report into the Morbi tragedy, which left 135 people dead, would disturb the level playing field in the two-phase elections scheduled for Gujarat on December 1 and December 5. The Morbi assembly seat, currently represented by Brijesh Merja of the BJP, goes to polls in the first phase on December 1. "The Model Code of Conduct guidelines have been prescribed specifically. If any decision disturbs the level playing field, then the commission will look into it," Kumar said responding to questions on whether the release of the inquiry report into the bridge collapse would violate the model code. He indicated that the elections could have been announced a couple of days earlier, but

Morbi bridge collapse was an 'act of God': Accused tells Gujarat court

A manager of the Oreva group, one of the nine persons arrested in connection with collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi town, sought relief from a local court claiming the tragedy which has claimed 135 lives was an "act of God", the prosecution said on Wednesday. Chief Judicial Magistrate M J Khan had on Tuesday remanded four of the arrested accused -- two managers of the Oreva group and two sub-contractors who had repaired the ill-fated bridge -- in police custody till Saturday (November 5). The other five accused were remanded in judicial custody and sent to jail. The British-era carriageway, built on the river Machchhu, had collapsed on Sunday evening, killing 135 people, including women and children. In their defence during arguments on remand application on Tuesday, one of the Oreva managers had sought relief on the ground that he was just doing the job given to him by the company and the tragedy was merely an "act of God", public prosecutor HS Panchal told ...

Mamata Banerjee demands SC-monitored probe into Morbi bridge collapse

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday demanded a Supreme Court monitored judicial probe into the recent bridge collapse in Morbi, Gujarat, that killed over 130 people.

Morbi bridge ropes were not replaced, only repainted: Public prosecutor

The First Class Judicial Magistrate on November 1 granted four-day remand of two managers and two workers to the police

Morbi bridge collapse: Gujarat observes state-wide mourning for victims

Civic bodies in Ahmedabad and Surat held condolence meetings as Gujarat observed state-wide mourning on Wednesday to pay homage to the victims of the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was present at the condolence meet organised by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Flags were flown at half-mast at the state secretariat in Gandhinagar and other Gujarat government offices. All official and entertainment programmes were cancelled. The collapse of the bridge on Sunday evening claimed 135 lives. Ahmedabad Mayor Kirit Parmar said, "We organised a meet to condole the loss of lives in the tragic incident." Similar prayer meetings were also held in other parts of the state. The decision to observe the state-wide mourning was taken on Monday in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the situation after the tragedy. CM Bhupendra Patel had in a tweet said no official function will be held on Wednesday. Prime Minister Modi on Tuesday calle

Morbi bar association not to represent accused in bridge collapse

The Morbi Bar Association on Wednesday said its members won't represent the accused in the suspension bridge collapse that claimed 135 lives. Members of the association on Wednesday held a protest march, a day after passing a resolution to not fight cases for the accused in the bridge collapse tragedy. Morbi Bar Association and Rajkot Bar Association have decided to not take their case and represent them. Both the bar associations have passed this resolution, senior advocate A C Prajapati said. All the lawyers of the association are deeply saddened by the tragedy. This is a moral call. We won't represent any accused in the bridge collapse case after the death of so many innocent people, another lawyer said. The association's decision was opposed by lawyer Hamza Lakdawala, who said it was acting like a khap panchayat. Bar associations exists to uphold the rule of law and to ensure that advocates can discharge their professional duties without fear of victimisation. They stand for

Morbi bridge collapse effect: Licenses of 25 boats suspended in Dwarka

The boat owners were allegedly ferrying more passengers than permitted or having life jackets on board

PM Modi holds high-level review meeting on Gujarat's Morbi bridge disaster

The Prime Minister once again emphasised on ensuring that those affected get all possible assistance

What is a suspension bridge? What possibly led to Morbi bridge collapse?

What is a suspension bridge? How does it transfer the load to the ground? Those were questions on the minds of many on Monday, a day after a century-old suspension bridge in Gujarat's Morbi over the Machchhu river collapsed, leaving 134 people dead. Just before the bridge collapsed, CCTV footage showed, some men were trying to rock the suspension bridge from one side to another. Saptadip Sarkar, a structural engineer working with Delhi-based Engineers India Limited answers these questions. "The deck of the suspension bridge, which bears the weight of the people walking on it in addition to its own weight, is held in place by the means of vertical suspenders which are made from ductile material and subjected to tension," he said. "These suspenders are then connected to the main cable which is also ductile and subjected to tension. "The main cable, which spans between the points connected by the bridge and is intermediately supported by vertical main column piers, has two functions

Four Oreva group staffers among nine held for Morbi bridge collapse

The case was registered in Morbi under Indian Penal Code Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), police said

Four arrested in Morbi bridge collapse case, death toll reaches 134: Police

Four persons were arrested on Monday in connection with the collapse of the cable suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi in Gujarat in which 134 people were killed, police said. "We have arrested four persons so far, the investigation is going on," Rajkot Range IG Ashok Yadav told PTI. He refused to elaborate saying the police will soon brief the media. Police have registered an FIR on charges of culpable homicide against agencies given the task of maintenance and operation of the bridge in Morbi city which collapsed on Sunday evening. The case was registered under Indian Penal Code Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide). The FIR, lodged by 'B' division police inspector Prakash Dekivadia, stated that the bridge over the Machchhu river in Morbi town was not in use for nearly eight months as the local administration had roped in a "private agency" for its maintenance.

World leaders express grief over loss of lives in Gujarat bridge collapse

World leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, on Monday extended their condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives in a tragic bridge collapse in Gujarat's Morbi city. At least 134 people have died so far after the suspension bridge collapsed into the Machchhu river in Morbi on Sunday evening. The more than a century-old bridge, which had reopened five days back after extensive repairs and renovation, was crammed with people when it collapsed. In a message to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was published on the Kremlin website, Putin said, Dear Ms President, dear Mr Prime Minister, please accept my heartfelt condolences over the tragic bridge collapse in the state of Gujarat. Putin also conveyed his words of sympathy and support to the families and friends of the victims, and wished all those injured a speedy recovery, state-run TASS news agency reported. In his condolence message,