Morbi Bridge Collapsed due to Corroded Wires and Welded Suspenders, Says SIT Probe Report
Morbi: The special investigation team (SIT) appointed by the Gujarat government in its preliminary probe has found that corrosion on almost half of the wires on the cable and welding of old suspenders with new ones were some of the major faults that led to the collapse of the suspension bridge in Morbi that killed one last year 135 people.
These findings are part of the “Preliminary Report on the Morbi Bridge Incident” submitted by the five-member SIT in December 2022. The report was recently shared with Morbi city by the State Urban Development Department.
Ajanta Manufacturing Limited (Oreva Group) was responsible for the operation and maintenance of the British-era suspension bridge on the Machchu River, which collapsed on
October 30 last year. The SIT found several deficiencies in the repair, maintenance and operation of the bridge.
The members of the SIT were IAS officer Rajkumar Beniwal, IPS officer Subhash Trivedi, secretary and chief engineer from the state road and construction department and a professor of civil engineering.
The SIT noted that of the two main cables of the bridge, built by the erstwhile rulers in 1887 across the Machchhu River, one cable had corrosion problems and nearly half of its wires “may have already been severed” even before the cable snapped in October. 30 in the evening.
According to the SIT, the main cable on the upper side of the river snapped, leading to the tragedy. Each cable was made up of seven strands, each containing seven steel wires. A total of 49 wires were joined together in seven strands to form this cable, the SIT report said.
“It was observed that out of 49 wires (of that cable), 22 were corroded, indicating that these wires might have been broken even before the incident. The remaining 27 wires broke recently,” the SIT said in its report.
The SIT also found that during the renovation work, “old ties (steel rods that connect the rope to the platform) were welded with new ties. Therefore, the behavior of the ties has changed. For these types of bridges, single-rod ties should be used to carry the load”.
In particular, the Morbi Municipality, without the approval of the General Council, awarded the contract for the maintenance and operation of the bridge to Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Limited), which closed the bridge for renovation in March 2022 and reopened it on 26 October without any prior approval or inspection.
According to the SIT, there were almost 300 people on the bridge at the time of the collapse, which was “far more” than the bridge’s carrying capacity.
However, the actual capacity of the bridge will be confirmed by laboratory reports.
The probe report also pointed out that the replacement of individual wooden planks with aluminum decking also played a role in the collapse.
“The walking structure consisted of rigid aluminum panels instead of flexible wooden planks. If there were individual wooden planks (which were there before the renovation), the death toll might have been lower. Also, no stress or structural testing had been done beforehand.” opening of the bridge,” he added.
The aluminum honeycomb panels were fixed without any gap between them, making the deck less flexible to deform in its own plane, the SIT said, adding that the use of aluminum may have also increased the overall weight of the bridge.
The Morbi police have already arrested ten accused, including Oreva Group MD Jaysukh Patel, under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to murder), 336 (act endangering human life), 337 (causing hurt whatsoever person by doing a rash or negligent act) and under 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing a rash or negligent act).
