Morbi bridge collapse: Probe reaches civic office, police say no structural tests done during bridge repair

However, sources aware of the investigation revealed that Dev Prakash Fabrication Limited, the company engaged by Oreva to restore the bridge, owned by the father-son duo of contractors, Prakashbhai Laljibhai Parmar (63) and Devangbhai Prakashbhai Parmar, did not undertake any “scientific assessment of structural stability.”

P A Zala told The Indian Express that the firm had not run “any tests or assessment on structural stability, feasibility”.

People cling on to the collapsed suspension bridge in Morbi. The structure on the Machchhu river was a century old. (Express Photo)

As The Indian Express reported Wednesday, the bridge was closed for seven months for repair after the Morbi Municipality signed a 15-year contract with Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, a part of Oreva Group, in March this year.

The Parmars, along with two Oreva managers Deepak Navindchandra Parekh (44) and Dinesh Mahasukhrai Dave (41), are in police custody until November 5.

In all, nine persons, including security guards and the ticketing clerks, have been arrested for culpable homicide (not amounting to murder) apart from other sections of the IPC.

According to Zala, the Parmars had been awarded a fabrication contract by Oreva way back in 2007 for the repair of the bridge. “But at the time, the company was named Vishwakarma. Its proprietors, owners, managers have remained the same in Dev Prakash,” said Zala.

Meanwhile, Public Prosecutor H S Panchal said that the local court had permitted addition of Sections of the IPC (336 and 337) related to hurt and injury due to negligence. Panchal said Section 338 has been kept pending as “medical certificates are awaited with respect to fractures.” Section 338 refers to grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and MoS Home Harsh Sanghavi, at the Morbi Civil hospital meeting survivors of the Jhoolta Pul collapse incident

Police said an estimated 2000-2500 tickets were issued on the day of the accident Sunday, far higher than normal days. When the bridge snapped around 6.30 pm, there were about 300 persons on it.

In 2007, Zala says, the bridge’s planks were changed from wooden to three-layer aluminium while the latest renovation involved replacing the three-layer aluminium planks with four-layer aluminium.

Said P A Zala: “A one-page contract was signed between Oreva and the contractor company, awarding Rs 29 lakh for the bridge repair and with no specification on an SOP for the work or the works that are required to be completed.”

Zala added that a probe is on to determine the number of employees in the company and the roles of these employees.

A civil engineering professor at SVNIT with an expertise in the area of applied mechanics said that restoration work for suspension bridges has to be subjected to “detailed dynamic analysis” that takes into account the latest Indian Standard codes. “Factors to be considered during restoration of such bridges include load testing, earthquake analysis, wind analysis, and internal resonance conditions, among others,” he said. Investigators are checking whether such detailed analysis was done.

The two contractors submitted before a magisterial court on November 1 through their lawyer that they were only involved in completing works assigned such as welding, electric fitting etc, based on the goods they received.

Zala, before the magisterial court on Monday, had submitted that there were no lifeguards, life jackets, life boats, first-aid medical team, and machines for rescue in case of an incident.

Parekh, one of the Oreva managers who handled graphic design and was a media manager of the company, and his colleague Dave, who managed the clock division of the company, were reportedly assigned to “supervise” the restoration project as per the contract signed between the municipality and Oreva.

According to the police, both Parekh and Dave are Commerce graduates and “did not have any technical expertise.”

The Morbi police attributes the rushed opening of the bridge “to cash in on the Diwali and post-Diwali crowd.” The police allege that while the MoU of Morbi municipality and Oreva had decided on charging Rs 15 for tickets, the tickets were reportedly being issued at Rs 17.

Said an official who is part of the investigating team: “The security guard and the ticket clerks were not trained personnel but it is a matter of common sense that when they saw such crowding, they should have stopped issuing tickets.”