Dinesh Gariya wipes his left hand clean as he takes a break from the back-breaking labour of loading bags of chemicals used in manufacturing ceramic tiles. The sweat makes way for a tattoo of a wide-eyed boy, his son Raj. Dinesh's eyes well up as he recounts how Raj’s ninth birthday celebrations ended up in a tragedy that the Gariyas are yet to recover from. Raj and his sister Payal (15) were among the 135, including 57 children, who were killed on October 30, 2022 as one of the cables of Jhulto Pul, the historic suspension bridge of Morbi town, snapped. Dinesh survived with injuries, while his younger daughter Bansi (14) escaped as she returned to the river bank after complaining of overcrowding. Later, it emerged that more than 300 people were on the deck of the suspension bridge at the time of the accident. “My wife Reena was not well. So, she stayed home and I took the children to the bridge. Bansi returned to the river bank, saying the bridge deck was too crowded. Minutes later, the bridge collapsed. I managed to get hold of a cable. When help arrived, I told them my children were in the water. But they rushed me to a hospital saying they would take care of them. I ran away from the hospital to look for my children. But I could only find their bodies,” a distraught Dinesh recalls. The family has received ex gratia from the state and Central governments as well as from Oreva Group’s Ajanta Manufacturing Private Limited (AMPL), the firm that had the contract of operating and maintaining the bridge. Narendra Parmar (42), a school teacher who lost his 10-year-old daughter Dhwani in the incident, tries to get a closure through legal battles. “It is completely disappointing that within a year of 135 deaths, nine of the 10 accused, including Jaysukh Patel, have been granted bail. The trial is moving at a painfully slow pace,” says Parmar who has moved the Gujarat High Court demanding the accused be booked for murder instead of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Last year, the next of kin of the victims and survivors formed the Tragedy Victim Association (TVA), Morbi, with 112 members to fight for justice. Traditionally a hub of the ceramic tile industry, the accident became part of the political discourse in the state that was heading into the Assembly elections in December that year. Yet, BJP candidate Kantilal Amrutiya, who built his campaign around his rescue act during the bridge collapse, emerged victorious. Pressed by the Gujarat High Court, the state government superseded the municipality in April 2023. However, the Lok Sabha election campaign paints a contrast picture. As campaigning intensifies, the tragedy seems to be a forgotten past. While some parts of Morbi town fall under the Rajkot and Kutch Lok Sabha constituencies, a few rural pockets are parts of the Surendranagar and Jamnagar seats. What has caught the attention of common voters in Morbi is the Kshatriya protests. “Kshatriyas don’t give in so easily. But do they have enough numbers to influence the outcome of the election? That’s an open question,” says the owner of a roadside eatery on Morbi’s outskirts. On Monday evening, BJP’s Rajkot candidate Parshottam Rupala led a roadshow in Ravapar on the southern outskirts of Morbi. The roadshow culminated at a public meeting in Ravapar village where a few Kshatriya men waved black flags and raised slogans as part of the community’s ongoing protests. The agitators are detained by police. Later, while addressing the gathering, Rupala or incumbent Rajkot MP Mohan Kundariya did not mention the bridge tragedy. Neither did Kesaridevsinh Jhala, the BJP Rajya Sabha MP who hails from Morbi, nor did anyone else who got the mic. “The state government is with the victims’ families. But the matter is sub-judice now,” Gujarat BJP vice-president Jayanti Kavadiya, who also hails from Morbi, tells The Indian Express. MLA Amrutiya, too, doesn’t broach the subject while campaigning for his party colleague, Vinod Chavda, in the Kutch seat. The Congress is also skipping the issue while focusing its campaign on development and infrastructural issues. Gujarat Congress working president Lalit Kagathara has gone on record stating that APML Managing Director Jaysukh Patel is being made a scapegoat. “The then president, vice-president and chairman of the executive committee of Morbi municipality are equally culpable. Why no action is being taken against them,” Congress district unit president Kishor Chikhaliya asks, adding, “The government doesn’t seem inclined to listen to victims’ cries for justice. In such a situation, what difference will it make if a few individuals like me raise their voice and protest?” A senior Congress leader says Jaysukh's involvement is indeed making the disaster a taboo for politicians. “It is natural for victims’ families to point fingers at Jaysukh Patel. However, thanks to charitable activities launched by his father Odhavji Patel and his own commitment to causes of education, women empowerment, water conservation, promotion of local industries to curb imports, etc, the industrialist enjoys much goodwill and sympathy among masses,” says the leader. Patidars overwhelmingly dominate most of the spheres in Morbi, including politics and businesses thanks to their numbers and financial heft. Caste lines run deep, including in the fight for justice for Morbi victims. Though more than a dozen victims belonged to the Patidar community, TVA doesn’t have a Patidar member. “Patidars seem to be in a mood to forgive Jaysukh Patel,” says one of the victim’s kin. Some say TVA never approached them. “.no one approached us while forming TVA. I learnt about it only through media reports. That said, I hope the court will do justice,” says Shailesh Raiyani (42), a farmer who lost his 14-year-old daughter Kunjul to the disaster. Shailesh’s wife Durga’s three sisters, their husbands and four children were also killed in the incident. Another relative of a Patidar victim says while the guilty must be punished, the legal battle must not be used as an axe to grind with Patidars. “Jaysukh Patel is not related to us but we can’t support a witch-hunt in the name of justice. Non-Patidars are using the case to decimate the industrialist financially and thereby, indirectly target the Patidar community,” asks the relative, adding, “The BJP has been domineering in Morbi and if I say something against it, it is more likely than not that they will target us. Things are not going to change unless the masses understand this.” Meanwhile, Dinesh says he doesn’t feel like casting his vote this time round. “I used to vote regularly. But how can I do it when they (the accused) are coming out on bail and roaming free,” says the labourer. The Raiyanis, on the other hand, are embarking on a pilgrimage to Haridwar on April 28. “We shall return only after three weeks and by then, the polling will be over,” he says.
