On 2nd November 2022, one person was arrested in connection with a viral video from the public meeting of PM Narendra Modi held in Tharad on 31st October 2022. The video went viral on the internet in which the person was seen unscrewing and removing a bolt of the mandap set for the public meeting that was being addressed by PM Modi. It is notable that PM Modi’s voice is clearly heard in the viral video as the arrested person was removing the bolt as the PM went on delivering his speech.
@GujaratPolice @HMOIndia @PMOIndia Happened during @narendramodi rally yesterday. @DeshGujarat @JapanPathak pic.twitter.com/dENtYCFfSw
— Sanjay Joshi (@sjoshi01) November 1, 2022
After the video went viral, the Banaskantha police came into action. They nabbed the person seen in the video and he is now being investigated by the police in order to ascertain the purpose of removing the bolt. The arrested individual is a resident of the village named Tharad.
PM Modi was addressing the public meeting as he laid the foundation stone of several water projects worth over Rs 8000 crores in Banaskatha’s Tharad. The projects would benefit around 1000 villages in the six districts of Gujarat.
PM Modi visited Gujarat on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He addressed the nation from the Statue of Unity at Kevadiya in Gujarat. He also visited the hospital where the people injured in the bridge collapse accident in Morbi were admitted. He also visited the bridge where the accident took place. PM Modi also visited the families of those deceased in this accident. PM Modi was joined by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
PM Modi also spoke to people involved in rescue and relief efforts at the site of the unfortunate incident in Morbi. Following a walkover around the site, Prime Minister Modi visited the civil hospital in Morbi to meet the survivors of the tragedy. The Prime Minister is closely monitoring the situation from the day of the incident. The PM also visited the Superintendent of Police’s Office in Morbi and took stock of the situation with senior police and administrative officials of the zone.
The Morbi mishap
On Sunday, October 30, 2022, over 130 people were killed when the cable bridge spanning the Machchhu River collapsed and everyone on the bridge plunged into the water. Laughter changed to screams of despair as dozens of people enjoying on the bridge drowned in an instant. The rescue efforts are still ongoing in and around the river.
According to the reports, the 150-year-old bridge located 300 km from Vadodara could take the weight of only about 125 people but there were around 400 people on the bridge when the incident happened. A total of 180 were successfully rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams.
The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for each of those killed in the accident and Rs 50,000 for those injured. The Prime Minister also has announced monetary assistance of Rs. 2 lakh for each of the victims’ families.
The bridge was closed for operational use about 7 months ago. A private company by the name of Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Private Limited) was given the contract in March of this year to renovate and maintain the said bridge. The suspension bridge, which is also known as the Jhoolta Pul, was reopened on the occasion of Gujarati New Year Day on October 26 this year after the completion of the renovation task of the bridge.
