By M L Satyan

Bengaluru, Nov 6, 2022: The bridge collapse at Morbi in Gujarat can be considered as a blackspot in the Indian history. A century-old suspension bridge, a tourist attraction in Gujarat’s Morbi town, over the Machchhu river collapsed, leaving more than 140 people dead.

As many as 177 persons were rescued during the search and rescue operation conducted by multiple agencies. At least 47 of the dead were children, making it one of India’s most horrendous tragedies. Inaugurated in 1879, the bridge was renovated and opened on October 26, four days before the tragedy. This raises several concerns.

A company that seems to have had no apparent expertise or track record in the field was awarded the contract. There are questions about the fitness of the bridge; in any case, it was not intended to carry more than 150 people at a time, according to reports.

Hundreds were on the bridge when it snapped as there was no crowd control. People were allowed to walk into a death trap. All these point to a major failure of governance at various levels. Gujarat is among the richer States of India, but it has often faced governance challenges — its poor management of the pandemic is a case in point. Human acts of omission and commission often cause tragedies, and significantly change the impact of natural disasters.

Technical Facts: Saptadip Sarkar, a structural engineer working with Delhi-based Engineers India Limited has given the following explanation:

• The deck of the suspension bridge, which bears the weight of the people walking on it in addition to its own weight, is held in place by the means of vertical suspenders which are made from ductile material and subjected to tension.

• These suspenders are then connected to the main cable which is also ductile and subjected to tension. The main cable, which spans between the points connected by the bridge and is intermediately supported by vertical main column piers, has two functions. The first is to support the vertical suspenders and the second is to maintain the verticality of the piers.

• Overall, the weight of the deck, including the traffic of people, is transferred to the ground through the vertical piers, which are in compression. So, at what points is such a type of bridge the most vulnerable?

• The main cable, suspenders, and the points at which the suspenders connect to the bridge deck are all vulnerable to failure. In fact, the main cable requires the most attention in terms of regular checks and maintenance over the service period of the bridge. The reason for this being the fatigue load that it is continuously subjected to during its service.

• On the transmission of forces to the ground the main cables are in slope and so the tension in the cable at the pier junction has a horizontal and a vertical component. While the horizontal component of this force is catered to by the cables anchored at the two ends through tension, the vertical component creates a compression in the pier.

• The connection points where the vertical suspenders meet the deck of the bridge are next in line to warrant attention. It is through these points that the loads of the deck and people are together transferred to the suspenders. The suspenders, in turn, transfer the loads to the main cable.

• The dynamic loading created by the synchronous and deliberate movements of the people on the bridge created excessive deflection from the point of view of the joint of the suspender to the bridge deck. Fatigue load refers to continuously subjecting a material to some force until it develops a crack.

Humanitarian act: As per the Jeeva Today YouTube Tamil channel Toufeek and Mohammed took the risk of losing their lives and saved 85 people. When the media persons asked them their experience, they just broke into tears and no words to answer the media. They just said that they could have saved some more people.

This made them feel sad. Unfortunately, the main media did not highlight these two men for their heroic deeds. Today the Muslim community is targeted everywhere. In Gujarat, after the Godra incidence hundreds of Muslims have been killed. Although this community is under threat, these two Muslim friends have saved 85 lives most of whom seem to be non-Muslims. So, humanity is still alive in India. To me, this humanitarian act has been very heart-touching. These two heroes deserve all appreciations and awards.

Unhumanitarian acts: Neither the state government nor the contractor agency has come forward to own responsibility for this tragedy. Interestingly one official of the contractor agency shamelessly said in the court that this disaster is the “act of God.”

PM Modi arrived two days late after addressing election campaigns in two places and inaugurating a train. So, purposefully, the state level mourning was announced late. A few years ago, Modi blamed the West Bengal government for a bridge tragedy and said that it was an “act of fraud.” Today, he does not blame the Gujarat government or the contractor agency. Can we call this an inhuman act on his part?

Preventive Measures: Coming out of the long restrictions on travel necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, people all over the world appear to be binging on travel and outings. A stampede in Seoul in South Korea killed 154 people last week. In India also, record numbers of people are thronging tourism and pilgrimage spots.

While tourism and travel are powerful engines of the economy, there must be more attention paid to ensure that they are safe and sustainable. Tourist and pilgrimage centres around the country should carry out safety and environmental audits to ensure that crowd management and safety protocols are in place to avoid tragedies such as this.

Development of new centers where large numbers of people are expected should account for such contingencies. The rapid pace of road and infrastructure development in ecologically sensitive areas such as the Himalayas should be in accordance with topographic limitations. More must be done to regulate the flow of travelers according to the infrastructure capacity of destinations. Tourism promotion campaigns must include creating safety awareness among visitors and local officials.