Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov 15: The Gujarat High Court questioned the Morbi civic council for failing to issue a tender for upkeep of the Morbi bridge while hearing a suo motu petition about the Morbi bride disaster. The High Court raised its eyebrows over the way in which the contract for renovation was granted to the Gujarat-based Ajanta Manufacturing, a part of the Oreva Group.
“The term of the contractor ended in 2016, despite that no tender was floated by the Morbi Municipal Corporation for the upkeep of the bridge,” the court said.
The bench also demanded a copy of the bridge repair contract between the private contractor and the Morbi municipal corporation. According to the court, the bench was informed that the civic body had not received a notification.
“Notice was issued by the registry. The municipal body is trying to act smart now,” said the court.
Through the advocate general, the Gujarati government informed the court that Diwali caused a significant increase in traffic on the bridge.
“Gujarat Police was on the spot within five minutes of the incident to rescue people from the river. All rescue operations were carried out at lightning speed. The chief minister and home minister, too, reached the site within a few hours,” the advocate general said.
The court gave instructions to Morbi’s principal district judge to make sure the municipal corporation received notice that the hearing would take place again tomorrow. In October, a hanging bridge built over the Machhu dam in Gujarat’s Morbi district collapsed, leaving over 130 people dead and hundreds injured and sparking a widespread panic.
