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The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would list for hearing on November 14 a PIL seeking constitution of a judicial commission to probe the Morbi bridge collapse incident in Gujarat.
According to the latest reports, the death toll in the collapse of the British-era bridge on Sunday on the Machchhu river in Morbi in Gujarat has gone up to 134 people.
“You are very quick. What are your prayers?” a bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi said when lawyer Vishal Tiwari mentioned his PIL on the issue for urgent hearing.
“I am seeking a judicial enquiry by a panel headed by a former Supreme Court judge,” the lawyer said.
The bench then said that the PIL would be listed for hearing on 14 November.
Tiwari, in the PIL, said the accident leading to the collapse of the bridge resulting in more than 134 casualties, depicted the negligence and utter failure of government authorities.
PTI
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The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction on Tuesday said the Gujarat government cannot shirk its responsibility for the loss of lives in Morbi bridge collapse and asked whether it should be termed as an “act of fraud, conspiracy or a mere accident”.
When a similar incident took place in West Bengal in 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had slammed that state government and called it an ‘act of God’, an editorial in the Thackeray camp’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana‘ said.
The Marathi daily also questioned the quality of renovation of the Morbi suspension bridge, which was opened for the public four days before it collapsed.
The suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Gujarat’s Morbi city collapsed on Sunday evening, killing 135 people, a senior police official earlier said.
PTI
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Actor Priyanka Chopra on Tuesday expressed her grief over the loss of lives at the Machchu river bridge accident in Morbi, Gujarat.
Taking to Instagram, Priyanka shared a note on her stories which she captioned, “So heartbreaking…My condolence goes out to everyone affected by the bridge collapse in Gujarat.”
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Former Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel refuted claims of the Gujarat government having any direct or indirect role and said that the renovation and opening of the bridge were done by the Morbi administration. The Morbi bridge collapse incident claimed the lives of 134 people.
“Renovation and opening of the bridge were done by Morbi admin. Gujarat govt didn’t have any role in it, direct or indirect. The old bridge was small and made for private use, but was opened to the public for tourist movement,” said Former Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.
The Former Deputy Chief Minister said that the work of renovation was given to the Oreva agency by the Morbi municipality.
“Oreva is an old company for repairing watches but only Morbi municipality knows on which qualification it handed over the work of bridge renovation,” he added.
ANI
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The heroic actions of a youth, who himself was one of the victims of the Morbi bridge collapse, has saved the lives of around 60 people.
The Morbi bridge collapse incident claimed the lives of 135 people.
Naim Sheikh, who knew how to swim managed to save, with the help of his friends, about 50-60 people, even though, he himself was also injured in the incident. He is currently admitted to Civil Hospital in Morbi and undergoing medical treatment.
ANI
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Technical and structural flaws, maintenance issues prima facie responsible for Morbi bridge collapse: Police
Technical and structural flaws and some maintenance issues were prima facie responsible for the Morbi bridge collapse in which 134 people were killed, a police officer said on Monday.
Addressing reporters, Rajkot Range IG Ashok Kumar Yadav said the police will take help from forensic experts and structural engineers to investigate all aspects related to the incident.
“Our preliminary investigation has revealed that technical and structural flaws, including (lack of) certification as well as some maintenance issues, were responsible for the tragedy,” Yadav said.
PTI
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After over 130 deaths in Morbi bridge collapse, number of visitors on Ahmedabad’s Atal bridge capped to 3,000 people
A day after 134 people died in a bridge collapse in Morbi, the Ahmedabad civic body on Monday decided to restrict the number of persons on the pedestrian-only Atal Bridge on the Sabarmati River in the city to 3,000 per hour, an official said.
The 300-metre long and 14-metre wide Atal Bridge, which connects the flower garden on the western-end of the riverfront and the upcoming arts and culture centre on the eastern-end, has become a huge attraction for people since it was commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 27.
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The government hospital at Morbi has got a makeover ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the facility to meet those injured in Sunday’s suspension bridge collapse which claimed 134 lives.
Workers were seen cleaning and painting a portion of the 300-bed hospital, which is a ground plus two-storey structure of three wings, ahead of Modi’s visit later Tuesday.
Six of those injured in the collapse are undergoing treatment at the hospital, while four to five other injured are being treated at a private hospital, a doctor said. So far, 56 people have been discharged, he added.
PTI
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Rescue operations resumed Tuesday over the Machchhu river where the Morbi bridge collapsed.
“It is suspected that some bodies may be there on the floor of the river, so we resumed the operation with the help of our deep divers,” VVN Prasanna Kumar, NDRF Commandant, told ANI.
#WATCH Gujarat: Search and rescue operation underway in Machchhu river where #MorbiBridgeTragedy struck on 30th October.
The death toll currently stands at 135. pic.twitter.com/YM48tZyPeI
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US President Joe Biden on Monday extended his deepest condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives in a bridge collapse in Gujarat’s Morbi city.
The more than a-century-old bridge, which had reopened five days back after extensive repairs and renovation, was crammed with people when it collapsed on Sunday evening. Over 130 people have died so far in the accident.
PTI
Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones during the bridge collapse in India, and join the people of Gujarat in mourning the loss of too many lives cut short. In this difficult hour, we will continue to stand with and support the Indian people.