Morbi Bridge Collapse: Nearly Half Of The Wires Were Broken Before The Collapse, Says SIT Reports

5 Dariya News

Gujarat 19-Feb-2023

Morbi Bridge located in Gujarat collapsed on 30 October 2023 which led to the deaths of 141 people and injuries to more than 180 people. The bridge collapsed just after four days of its reopening for the people after seven months of renovation. A special investigation team was appointed for the inquiry of the incident. The STI has preliminary enquired that nearly half of the wires were already broken before the collapse, as reported by PTI on Sunday.  

The team said in its reports, “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.”

Also Read: Morbi bridge collapse toll rises to 77, Guj, PM announces compensation

‘Preliminary Report On Morbi Bridge Incident’ was shared by the The State Urban Development Department with the Morbi Municipality recently which was submitted by the five-member SIT in December last year. Ajanta Manufacturing Limited was handed over the responsibility of repairing and maintenance of the bridge. The SIT Team concluded that there have been several lapses in the repair and maintenance and also noted that half of the wires of one of the two main cables ‘may be already broken’ before the collapse on the evening of 30 October. 

As informed by the STI, the two of the main cables were built in 1887 by the erstwhile rulers. As reported, during the renovation work, “old suspenders 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”.

The Oreva Group was handed over the contract to repair the Morbi Bridge in March 2022 by the local municipality. The civic has now also claimed that the Oreva Group has reopened the bridge without its permission. The chief officer of Morbi Municipality, Sandipsinh Zala has also been suspended by the government. The Municipality has also been questioned on the whole matter as many faults were found even after the renovation work.