Morbi bridge collapse: Gujarat HC orders state government to conduct survey of all bridges

In a massive development, Gujarat High Court on Thursday ordered the state government to survey all bridges and ensure that they are in proper condition. 

The High Court has also directed the state to furnish a report stating the condition of all the bridges and present it to the court. The Gujarat HC also emphasised over the compensation that is being offered to the families of victims whose lives were claimed in the Morbi bridge collapse, calling it 'unjustified' and that it should be 'appropriate'.

This comes after Supreme Court directed the Gujarat High Court to examine the cases on a weekly manner to ensure inquiries identify those guilty of the incident and also compensate their kin in a rightful manner. 

The Gujarat HC, last month took a suo moto cognisance of the bridge collapse in Morbi, in which 135 people were killed. Last week, the court charged heavily upon the Morbi civic body over its deal with a private firm to maintain the bridge and also inquired if the private firm was granted permission as well by the civic body to re-open the structure to the public.

A Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report on the Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat released this week revealed that the Oreva Group had sold over 3,000 tickets on the day the tragedy occurred. 

District government pleader Vijay Jani said, "The group had sold 3,165 tickets on October 30 alone and there was no coordination between ticket booking offices on either end of the bridge."

Also according to the FIR, at least 250 to 300 people were present on the bridge when it collapsed after one of the cables broke, ultimately claiming the lives of 135 people.