The greed, corruption, political expediency all played their part in the bridge tragedy in Gujarat
The collapse of a colonial era cable bridge at Morbi in Gujarat on Sunday in which nearly 145 persons lost their lives and many got injured was a gruesome tragedy. Global leaders like Russian president Vladimir Putin, Dalai Lama, Sri Lanka’s Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed their shock and condolences and this speak about the seriousness of the situation. The collapse of the recently renovated bridge happened on the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for building the manufacturing plant of the C-295 Transport Aircraft being built by Air Bus Industries of France at Vadodara adds to the seriousness of the disaster. The Prime Minister’s new mantra “Make in India, Make for the Globe” falls all flat with the collapse of the Morbi cable bridge.
What adds to the mystery behind this accident is the continued silence of Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel even after 24 hours of the disaster. Patel should have been the first person to tell the world that an accident of heavy magnitude has taken place and those who are responsible for the collapse of the bridge should be brought before the law. But he remained incommunicado and media persons who tried to speak to him were driven away by his personal staff. The fact that a clock manufacturing company based in Morbi with no experience in renovating bridges or specialisation in heavy engineering works was given the contract for the renovation and restoration work of the bridge. A former Fire Safety Officer has come out in the open saying that he had alerted the authorities three times about the sub-standard works being carried out under the pretext of renovation.
The catchword is that the leader should always lead from the front. But Patel is not seen anywhere near the rescue and relief operations. The death toll definitely mandates that Patel should have been present on the scene in the first hours of the accident itself. His action does not augur well for a person of his stature. The fact that the company Oreva that had been awarded the contract to renovate the bridge is owned by the family of Odhavji Raghavji Patel, founder of the group too needs to be investigated. Initial reports say that the deal looks fishy and filthy. The days of driving away media persons and scaring the people who ask questions are long over and we live in an open society. The attitude of Chief Minister Patel is highly condemnable.