Morbi Bridge collapse: 22 wires were already broken before the accident, reveals SIT report
The SIT also found that during the renovation work, "old suspenders (steel rods which connect the cable with the platform deck) 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"
FollowOne of the main flaws that caused the fall of the suspension bridge in Morbi last year, which resulted in the deaths of 135 people, was the welding of old suspenders with new ones, according to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that the Gujarat government appointed.
The five-member SIT included these conclusions in its "Preliminary Report on Morbi Bridge Disaster," which was turned in in December 2022. The state Urban Development Department recently provided the Morbi Council with the assessment.
The suspension bridge over the Machchu River built in the British period was operated and maintained by Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group), which is also accountable for the collapse on October 30, last year. The SIT had discovered numerous flaws in the bridge's administration, upkeep, and repairs.
Also read | Police use tear gas on protesters in Panchkula demanding restoration of Old Pension Scheme
Members of the SIT included an IAS official named Rajkumar Beniwal, an IPS officer named Subhash Trivedi, a secretary and chief engineer from the state's department of roads and buildings, as well as a structural engineering expert.
The SIT observed that one of the two major cables of the bridge, constructed over the river Machchhu by the former masters in 1887, was experiencing corrosion problems, with nearly half of its wires "possibly already damaged" even before the cable broke on October 30 in the evening.
The SIT claims that the primary cable on the river's upstream bank broke, causing the disaster. Each cable was formed by seven strands, each comprising seven steel wires. Total 49 wires were clubbed together in seven strands to form this cable, the SIT report said.
Also read: Telangana is India's Afghanistan, K Chandrashekar Rao is Taliban: YSRTP chief YS Sharmila sparks row
"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," the SIT said in its report.
Additionally, the SIT discovered that during the renovations, "the new suspenders were welded to the original suspenders (steel rods connecting the wire with the platform superstructure). As a result, suspenders' behaviour altered."
Notably, the Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Limited), which had closed the bridge in March 2022 for renovations and opened it on October 26 without any prior approval or inspection, had been given the contract to maintain and operate the bridge by the Morbi Municipality without the approval of the general board.
Also read: Millets to be part of mid-day meals in Chhattisgarh's 12 districts; check details
Nearly 300 people were on the bridge at the time of collapse, which the SIT claims was "far more" than the weight the structure could support. However, it stated that laboratory results would validate the bridge's real carrying capacity.
(WITH PTI INPUTS)
subscribe to Asianet Newsable WhatsApp channel by clicking here.
