Description
The suspension bridge over the Machchhu river in the city of Morbi collapsed in October last year, killing 135 people. Months after a suspension bridge collapsed in the Gujarat town of Morbi, killing 135 people, the state government replaced the town's municipality on Tuesday, an official said. The civic body was controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which also rules the state.
"The state government replaced the Morbi municipality," Morbi district collector GT Pandya told PTI.
The suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in the city of Morbi collapsed on October 30, 2022, killing 135 people. The bridge was maintained and operated by the Oreva Group under an agreement signed with the municipality.
In January, the state Department of Urban Development sent a note of support to the municipality asking why it should not be dissolved for breach of its functions.
According to the government, the Oreva group had written several letters to the municipality between 2018 and 2020 warning that the bridge was in poor condition and that a serious accident could occur if the bridge remained open to the public.
The civic body ignored those company warnings, according to the show's cause notice.
The municipality also did not take concrete steps to return the bridge to the company in 2017 after the contract was completed, he said.
The notice also cited the findings of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to claim that the Oreva Group had committed various failures in the repair, maintenance and operation of the bridge.
The municipality, in its response to the notice, pleaded not guilty, saying it had never agreed to hand over the bridge to the Oreva group.
As many as 41 of his 52 advisers submitted a separate response saying that most of them were unaware of the agreement under which the bridge was handed over to the Oreva group.
The 52 councilors elected for the Morbi municipality were from the ruling BJP.
