Morbi (Gujarat), Oct 31 A Congress delegation led by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday met the families of the victims of the Morbi bridge collapse and demanded that a commission of inquiry headed by a sitting judge be set up which should submit probe report in a stipulated time period.
Gehlot said the Special Investigation Team headed by an IAS officer was not enough. He even said the ex-gratia compensation amount declared by the state as well as central government was insufficient and it should increase the amount.
Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Jagdish Thakor alleged that this was a man-made disaster, and the government should take stern action against all those responsible for the tragedy.
Senior leader Arjun Modhvadia said that the Morbi Nagarpalika president, Chief Executive Officer, District collector were directly responsible for the tragic incident, because without quality check and official permission they were permitted to reopen the cable bridge for visitors, which led to the man-made disaster.
He said, "For every civil work there were specifications for construction, repair, or renovation, where those specifications followed in letter and spirit? Did the government officers inspect whether the bridge was being renovated and meeting these standards or not?"
Meanwhile, it has come to light that a contract existed between the Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt Ltd and the Morbi Nagar Palika. According to this contract, the company was supposed to charge Rs 10 for minor visitors and Rs 15 for adults for 2022-23, against that the company was charging Rs 12 for minors and Rs 17 for adults.
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