Foul play?

Machchhu river, which runs through Morbi town in the Kathiawar peninsula of the western state of Gujarat, turned into a watery graveyard on the evening of October 30 — Gujarat's New Year Day. As the 137-year-old "engineering marvel" — Morbi's 'jhulto pul' (suspension bridge) — lethally plunged into the river, taking along with it hundreds of people, the entire nation grieved and sympathies floated in from international quarters.

Hundreds of people have been saved, hundreds have died and an unknown number of people may still be buried under the silty bedrock of Machchhu River, with the chances of retrieval of their corpses remaining highly dubious.

On a Sunday evening, an unknown number of people flocked to the bridge after paying Rs 15 for adults and Rs 12 for children, along with Rs 2 premium on each ticket, to celebrate the New Year Day — not knowing it would cost them much more! Throngs of people were emboldened by the assurance that "nothing will happen to the bridge for the next 8-10 years", placing full trust in the one-and-a-half century long history of the bridge. The laxity shown by the state — evident in lacking safety precautions — must also have assured them of a safe passage. Their trust was defied, and most of them are no longer alive to complain about it.

What next? Customary compensations followed, SIT investigation is announced and the effort is to cool the heated sentiments of the people. Gujarat, after all, is going for polls in a month's time! The question of fixing accountability and responsibility for this huge mishap remains in the realm of ambiguity. Nobody would claim a dead horse! Some pawns of this profound structural lapse have been arrested and are being questioned — perhaps to keep the fire burning until the incident fades away from the public memory!

Currently, the breed that is being accused of negligence is itself entrusted with the responsibility of investigation. If a fair probe outcome is desired, an independent investigation has to be made.

In this article, we shall delve into the difficult question of who is responsible to what degree for the unfortunate incident — even though it is not answerable at this point in time. We shall also try to be familiar with the technical aspects of the collapse of the suspension bridge. But beforehand, we shall understand the river, the town and the bridge to put things in context.

Historical perspective

Morbi town, previously known as Morvi, is located at the heart of Morbi District. The district — flanked by Rajkot in the south, Surendranagar in the east and Jamnagar in the west — was created on August 15, 2013. The bridge that collapsed was located over the Machchhu River which originates from the hill ranges of Jasdan Sardar and Mandva in Rajkot district and Chotila in Surendranagar district and passes through Malia, Morbi, Wankaner, Jasdam and Rajkot talukas of Rajkot districts. The bridge was inaugurated in 1879 during the flourishing reign of Sir Waghji Ravaji, the Thakur Sahib of Morbi (1858-1922).

Once it was said that rivers of milk and ghee flowed in the Morbi town — a proverbial metaphor for prosperity. Today, the district town enjoys a reputation for being a ceramic and wall-clock hub in the country. However, the otherwise rich and flourishing heritage of the town has been interspersed with several tragedies — Morbi bridge collapse being the latest.

It was way back on August 11, 1979 that Morbi witnessed the "worst dam burst" in Indian history. Extraordinary monsoons that year led to the failure of two mile-long Machchhu Dam-II. Negligence, again, was the keyword. Neither the operation of dam gates was up to the mark nor was the communication proper. As a result, people of Morbi couldn't anticipate the gravity of the inundation which otherwise has been a routine phenomenon in the town. The result was an unknown number of deaths, with estimates ranging from 2,000 to 25,000. The town was also witness to India's deadliest earthquake in 2001, which might have had an impact on the durability of the Morbi bridge.

The recent disaster is a horrific reminder of the unforgettable 1979 dam failure for the people of Morbi. The shock unleashed will not fade away from public memory anytime soon.

Fixing the accountability

How much progress has been made in the Morbi bridge collapse investigation is a secondary question — a question that can wait. The primary question is in which direction the probe is headed. Of the nine people arrested so far, two are ticket booking clerks and two are managers (all employed by Oreva group). Among the rest, two contractors and a security personnel have also been put behind bars.

It is baffling that investigation units believe that ticket booking clerks, security personnel and contractors should be primarily held accountable for this grave mishap. The arrestees are no more than scapegoats. The administration has chosen to take the most convenient steps to avoid the most inconvenient questions circulating publicly.

Apparently, no efforts are being made to figure out what exactly was the criterion for awarding the tender of Morbi bridge to a company that has no specialisation in the construction sector. The second inconvenient question is, if Morbi municipality was not aware of the opening of the bridge for four days prior to the mishap, then who was supposed to be? It is learnt that Morbi municipality had agreed the company could collect Rs 15 from adults and Rs 10 from children below the age of 12 as entry tickets for the first year, with a Rs 2 hike every subsequent year.

Furthermore, immediately after the collapse, a spokesperson from Oreva group confirmed that the bridge collapsed because there were "far too many people on it than its approved capacity." This brings us to the third inconvenient question, who allowed so many people to flog on the bridge simultaneously, and why? Out of negligence or for profit?

The fourth inconvenient question is what the Central and state governments are doing to dig deep into the man-made mishap that attracted words of empathy from the tallest of political leaders, globally?

There're obvious lapses on more than one front, and these lapses are to be accounted for. A fair and transparent probe is possible only after the above mentioned inconvenient questions are answered.

Political ramifications

The multi-layered lapses discussed above are not case-specific; they reflect a systemic inconsistency. Political opponents of the BJP didn't waste any time in upping the political ante, and rightly so. Their line of argument, criticising the much-touted Gujarat Model of development, doesn't appear baseless.

Gujarat is one of the prime states that boast of a "double-engine sarkar" — an inherently flawed conception as it reflects a sense of discrimination between BJP-governed and non-BJP states. Understanding the severity of the case, the Indian National Congress (INC) has shown political maturity by clarifying that it would not "indulge in any politics" until the outcomes of the probe are out.

Newly appointed AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi expressed their condolences over the loss of lives. Randeep Singh Surjewala was more direct in questioning why the collapse should not be considered as "a straight criminal conspiracy"?

Constitutionally, the role of opposition parties was envisaged to hold governments accountable. They must not shy away from adhering to that prescribed role. The abject failure of the "double-engine" Sarkar requires sharp, outcome-based questioning. The diluted approach by even the most vocal critics and challengers, including AAP supremo, doesn't augur well for democracy.

Non-politicisation of sensitive issues and letting the government loose on its failure are markedly different things. It was the same BJP in 2016 which saw a Kolkata flyover collapse as an "act of fraud" rather than "an act of god." It was also the same BJP which, while in opposition in Kolkata, had sent a fact-finding team to Jalpaiguri district where eight people had died in a flash flood in the Mal River during immersion of Durga Puja idols.

Be it politicians or common citizens — the grief caused by the Morbi disaster is unsurmountable for each. However, opposition leaders have a larger responsibility to hold the government accountable, on behalf of people.

The man-made Morbi disaster could be one of the many issues in the forthcoming Gujarat assembly elections. Given the strong presence of the BJP in the state, it may not have much impact on their performance. However, this should not deter the opposition parties from going full throttle with sharp criticism.

Technical lapses

It needs to be cleared at the outset that suspension bridges are not inherently vulnerable to disasters. In fact, both the elegance and functioning of these bridges are ranked at par with other bridges.

Suspension bridges are designed as such to absorb the stress generated by live load (weight of the people) and dead load (weight of the bridge itself); and transfer it to the ground through the two anchorages erected before the two terminal points. The two anchorages are connected with a set of two parallel main cables hanging in the air. The cables bear the weight of the entire deck on which pedestrians walk. The deck is joined with the main cable through vertical hangers. So, essentially, the combined weight of bridge and pedestrians — comprising a strong downward vertical force — is balanced by the upward vertical components of tensional force exerted by ductile hangers and the main cables. The horizontal component of tensional force exerted by main cables is transferred to anchorages.

So, the vulnerable points could be: below-par standard of the main cable, or the fatigue load accumulated by it over the years; low-standard vertical cables or the fatigue load factor; and increased vertical load on account of overcrowding or heavier material used for the deck. In addition, occasionally variable forces emanating from winds, or sideways swinging of the deck due to people's movement, could also have an impact on the stability of the bridge.

One more important vulnerable point is the place where vertical hangers are joined with the deck or the main cable. In the current crisis, it is learnt that the material of the deck of the suspension bridge, and so the jointers as well, might

have been replaced during the renovation phase. It may be noted that main cables remained as such even after the collapse, indicating that the problem was with other parts of the bridge.

While the results of forensic tests are still awaited, administrative failure is obvious, and the probability of technical lapses stands high.

It may be recalled that Rajkot Range IG had confirmed that "preliminary investigations revealed that technical and structural flaws, including (lack of) certification as well as some maintenance issues, were responsible for the tragedy."

Conclusion

It is true that the man-made disaster in Morbi was profound in its character but it would be misleading to see it in isolation. The collapse is just yet another reflection of administrative failure. The fact that the colonial-era bridge has sustained itself over a century and a half is evidence that nothing much can be blamed upon its inherent design.

The chink in urban governance is so deep that policymakers, it appears, have already decided to give up on it! If the self-back patting around relief and rescue operation is left out, the response to the mishap — from compensation and assurances to formation of SIT — has been very customary. These are imperative responses. In the wake of such a catastrophe, we need some outstanding, and not customary, interventions. The sad reality is that revelation of administrative failure is seen as a blot on the government of the day — something that needs to be covered up, rather than something to be fixed right

The arrests made so far reveal it all. While the top decision-making authorities of Oreva group and Morbi municipality remain shielded from any slightest action, a handful of pawns including security officials and ticket clerks are being sacrificed. Why are the hands of law tied against those who might have a larger role? What's there in the dark worth hiding?

Long-prevailing unholy nexuses, systemic negligence and lacking accountability are some of the factors that have been pestering urban governance for long. The Morbi disaster is a dark reflection of the same. Rather than waiting for the issue to fade away from public conscience, administration should take meaningful, comprehensive initiatives to start stemming the rot.

Views expressed are personal