Gujarat bridge tragedy: An MP lost 12 family members
Morbi, Oct 31: Shivam, aged 10 years, was enjoying the thrill of the "Jhulta pool" or suspension bridge, a famous tourist spot in Morbi, with his family members as he wanted to enjoy Diwali vacations, but hours later he returned to Rajkot with bodies of his parents and brother- all victims of the bridge collapse incident in which 134 people lost their lives.
Shivam survived as he caught hold of a snapped cable but his parents and elder brother were not so lucky.
For Amina Banu also the visit to the bridge turned into a nightmare that she will perhaps not be able to forget in her life. She had gone to the bridge with 36 people from her extended family, six of whom died in the tragedy.
Rajkot BJP MP Mohan Kundariya told PTI that he lost 12 relatives in the tragedy.
Many survivors have lost more than one member of their families in the tragedy.
"I went to the bridge with 36 people from my family along with my children. Six members of my family including my cousin and her children died in the incident," Banu said.
Recalling the horrific incident, Banu said nobody came for help initially and they were on their own.
"They charged a ticket of Rs 17 per person. Why did the company allow so many people on the bridge? The company said they had spent Rs 2 crore on renovating the bridge. Is the life of people worth Rs 17?" she asked.
A resident of Rajkot, Shivam was visiting his maternal grandparents in Morbi. He, his parents, and his elder brother were on the bridge which was crammed with people when the tragedy struck on Sunday evening.
"There was a huge crowd when the bridge suddenly collapsed. I survived because I caught hold of a hanging cable and slowly climbed up. But my brother, father and mother are still missing," he told reporters.
Later, his relatives from Rajkot rushed to Morbi and found the bodies of Shivam's missing family members among those who were fished out of the river.
The bodies were taken to Rajkot with the young child accompanying them.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, some youngsters were seen kicking and shaking cables of the bridge apparently to scare other tourists, minutes before the collapse.
One of the survivors Mehul Raval said there were at least 300 people on the bridge when its cables snapped and it collapsed into the river.
"The bridge suddenly caved in when we were on it. All the people fell into the river. The bridge collapsed mainly because it was overcrowded," Raval told reporters at the Morbi civil hospital, Mohan Kundariya told PTI that he lost 12 relatives in the tragedy.
"They had come to the picnic spot on Sunday but they perished in the tragedy," he said.
A Morbi resident also said there were at least 300 people on the bridge at the time of the incident.
Ironically, the bridge was reopened for the public a few days back after renovation, he said.
"Majority of the victims were children who were enjoying Diwali vacation. Locals rushed to the spot immediately after the incident and pulled out many people from the river alive," he said.
Another resident said the incident opened the wounds of the Machchhu dam tragedy of 1979 when thousands of residents died in floods.
"All the residents living nearby the river came for rescue and saved many lives. This is the first major incident in Morbi after the 1979 dam breach. This bridge collapsed due to overcrowding. The rescue was hampered because of low light in the evening," he said.
Former BJP MLA of Morbi, Kanti Amrutiya, also joined local rescue teams.
"I pulled out many people alive, but many others were already dead when they were pulled out. Everyone is doing their bit to help people," he said.
The nature and scope of the tragedy has shaken the nation.
The Morbi district website described the suspension bridge as an engineering marvel built at the turn of the century, which reflects the progressive and scientific nature of the rulers of Morbi.
This was built to give a unique identity to Morbi using the latest technology available in those days, in Europe. The bridge was 1.25 metre wide and spans 233 metre on the Machchhu river connecting Darbargadh Palace and Lakhdhirji Engineering College, it says.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
