Citizens' Accountability LedgerWho owned the mess? 25 years, every party, on the record

Case 57 · Public safety

Morbi bridge collapse. 135+ dead, no political head rolled

30 Oct 2022

Only the contractor charged

1,385 days since Nobody has been held to account.

Human cost Est
135 to 141 killed, including 47 children; 50+ injured
Financial cost Est
A ₹2 cr maintenance contract on which barely ₹12 lakh was reportedly spent before reopening

What happened

A colonial-era suspension bridge, reopened after repairs with no fitness certificate and no load test, snapped over the Machchhu river days later and dropped a festival crowd into the water.

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 2022

    A colonial-era suspension bridge is reopened after repairs, with no fitness certificate and no load test.

  2. 30 Oct 2022

    The bridge snaps over the Machchhu river days later and drops a festival crowd into the water. More than 135 people are killed.

  3. Oct to Nov 2022

    The private operator's managing director is arrested and a municipal official is suspended.

  4. 2023

    An SIT holds the private operator and municipal officials responsible.

  5. 2023 onward

    Not one minister in the state government that oversaw the civic body resigns or is held to account. Victims are still fighting for compensation years later.

Dates are as the record states them, which is sometimes a month or a year rather than a day. Entries marked in red are the ones where nothing happened next.

Claim against record

What the government said

The state pointed to the operator's negligence and to the SIT and court process.

What the record shows

Only the contractor charged

An SIT held the private operator and municipal officials responsible; the operator's MD was arrested and an official suspended. But not one BJP minister in the state government that oversaw the civic body resigned or was held to account, and victims were still fighting for compensation years later.

What accountability should have looked like

Political accountability alongside criminal, a clear chain of responsibility from contractor to civic body to minister, and fast, guaranteed compensation.

Ministers and office-holders responsible

Naming who held the portfolio is a matter of public record. It is not by itself a finding of personal responsibility for any death or any rupee.

Sources

T1 primary record · T2 reporting · T3 partisan

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Cite or export this case

Citizens' Accountability Ledger, "Morbi bridge collapse. 135+ dead, no political head rolled" (30 Oct 2022), case-24. https://whoisresponsible.xyz/case/case-24/

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