Morbi tragedy: Death toll climbs to 135, state government distributes Rs 5.40 crore compensation

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government started distributing Rs 4 lakh ex gratia among the next of kin of each of the victims on Monday and officials said the process had been completed by Tuesday noon. “Kin of each of the 135 victims have been handed over cheques worth Rs 4 lakh each towards compensation. In all, we have handed over relief cumulatively worth Rs 5.40 crore,” Sanchla said.

Jhulto Pul, the historic suspension bridge across Machchhu river in Morbi, snapped late on Sunday evening with more than 300 people on its deck. After one of the cables of the bridge snapped, the deck of the bridge and the people on it plunged into Machchhu river.

Dr Pradip Dudhrejiya, medical superintendent of the state government-run GMERS General Hospital in Morbi, said the victims prima facie died due to drowning.

Shoes on the banks of Machchhu river serve witness to the Morbi bridge tragedy that occurred Sunday evening.

The state government had announced Rs 4 lakh ex gratia to the next of kin on the day of the incident itself. The government had also announced Rs 50,000 ex-gratia compensation to those injured in the incident while providing them free medical treatment. The central government too announced Rs 2 lakh compensation to the next of kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 to each one injured in the incident.

Meanwhile, search and rescue operations continued for the third straight day on Tuesday. Morbi district collector G T Pandya had said on Monday evening that two persons were reported missing even as the district administration was gearing up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Morbi scheduled on Tuesday evening.