The death of 144 people after a suspension bridge collapsed in Morbi district of Gujarat is the last in a series of manmade disasters. The hundred forty years old British era bridge was closed to the public for six years. After finishing all maintenance work, the bridge was opened to the public. But five days later the bridge collapsed, unable to handle the weight of the crowd gathered on the bridge. It is estimated that over five hundred people were on the bridge when it collapsed.

The authorities might not have guessed if the bridge could withstand the huge weight of more than five hundred people on the bridge at the same time. That is why there were no precautions to limit the number of people getting on the bridge.

It is great to keep the heritage of the suspension bridge intact. In addition, the authorities have the responsibility to check the safety of the bridge. If the bridge had collapsed just five days after maintenance work, then it means that the calculations of the authorities have failed miserably.

The state government has constituted a five-member expert committee to probe into the tragedy. It needs no expert brains to conclude that the reason for the collapse was the result of the failings of the concerned officials. Therefore, the first step must be the expulsion of the officials who were responsible for the maintenance work of the bridge. These officials, who were responsible for the loss of more than a hundred people, including women and children, must not be given any benefits of the law.

Some might argue that no one will engage willfully to precipitate a tragedy. However, it is a serious matter that a lack of willingness to do their duties led to a major disaster. It is the soft attitude of the state and political parties towards such officials which leads to the repeated occurrence of such tragedies.

It is announced that the families of the victims of the bridge collapse will be given Rs.4 lakhs compensation by the state government and Rs.2 lakhs by the central government. The value of the lives of those who perish in disasters such as these is the same across the country. It must be noted that the bridge collapsed not because of the people but because of the failure of the government officials to carry out their duties diligently. Therefore, the Gujarat government is liable to pay compensation that is many times higher than the amount announced. If the government fails to pay higher compensation, then the families of the victims must come forward and look for legal ways to get higher compensation.

The government is responsible for the safety of historical buildings, especially constructions like suspension bridges. If a decision to construct another bridge alongside the one-and-a-half-century-old bridge in Morbi was taken, then such a disaster could have been avoided.

It is surprising that those who advocate for the dismantling of all the remains of the British in the country took an interest in this British-era bridge. Also, a dirty political interest might be there behind the sudden opening of the bridge, which was closed for maintenance for six years.

The suspension bridge might have survived this long because of British construction. Currently, the specialty of modern bridges is that they will collapse some years after they are built. It’s only been two days since an under passage, which was undergoing construction collapsed in Kasaragod.