Four Days after the century-old suspension bridge collapsed in Gujarat’s Morbi district killing more than 135 people, the Chief officer (CO) of Morbi municipality Sandeepsinh Zala, who had admitted that the bridge was reopened without a fitness certificate, has been suspended for dereliction in the Morbi mishap.
The development comes merely three days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel visited the bridge collapse site.
“The state Urban Development Department has suspended Chief Officer of Morbi Municipality Sandipsinh Zala,” said District Collector GT Pandya on Friday (November 4).
Notably, in the aftermath of the tragedy, the Chief officer (CO) of Morbi municipality Sandeepsinh Zala confirmed that the bridge was thrown open to the public without getting a fitness certificate. “However, the private firm threw the bridge open to visitors without notifying us and therefore, we couldn’t get a safety audit of the bridge conducted…It was opened to the public after the completion of the renovation work. But the local municipality had not yet issued any fitness certificate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Resident Additional Collector of Morbi has been given the additional charge of the Chief Officer until further orders, he said. Morbi Municipality had given the contract of the bridge repair and maintenance to Oreva group for 15 years, officials said.
Poor bridge maintenance, rusted cables
It may be recalled that on Tuesday, Morbi Deputy Superintendent of Police PA Zala who is investigating the case of the tragic incident of the bridge collapse alleged that the suspension bridge crumbled due to its poor maintenance. Zala said to the local court that the cables of the bridge were rusted and that had the cables been repaired, the incident would not have happened.
Morbi tragedy
The bridge over the Machchhu River in Morbi, Gujarat, collapsed on October 30, claiming at least 135 lives and injuring several other persons. The bridge, which was over a century old, had just been reopened following its repair and renovation work. Notably, around 400 people were on the bridge when the incident happened, as the ancient bridge could not bear the weight.
