Morbi tragedy: 2 years later, no closure, no compensation for victims

Life has not been the same for Satish Rohitbhai Zala, who lost nine family members in the Morbi bridge tragedy of 2022.

Zala, who used to be a taxi driver, lost his two children, his two sisters, their husbands and nephews and nieces in the tragedy. All he has received in the form of compensation is an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh from the state government.

“It’s been two years since our lives changed forever. Nothing can bring back the family I lost, but I want to see that the accused brought to justice,” he told The Federal.

It has been two years since 141 people lost their lives and 180 others were injured after a pedestrian suspension bridge over River Machchhu in Gujarat’s Morbi district collapsed, but the victims still await compensation.

Meanwhile, the executives of the company that held the contract for the maintenance of the bridge are out on bail, showing neither signs of remorse nor willingness to pay the court-ordered compensation.

Expedition of compensation

On November 30 this year, the Gujarat High Court, while hearing a suo moto public interest litigation (PIL), ordered the Oreva Group, responsible for the maintenance of the bridge, to expedite the compensation process.

During the previous hearing, in June 2024, a bench headed by Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi had formed a trust to provide financial assistance to the victims of the tragedy and had appointed two lawyers as court monitors in the case.

The court had directed the accused, Oreva Group, to form a tripartite agreement between the company, the trust and the victims to compensate the victims as soon as possible.

However, despite the orders, the victims still await compensation two years after the tragedy.

Also read: A look at some of the deadliest bridge collapse incidents in India

Oreva commits, then backs out

Noticeably, in October 2022, Oreva Group MD Jaysukh Patel, while applying for bail, had offered to give Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh to those injured in the accident on behalf of the company.

However, the High Court, while hearing the suo moto PIL on a later date, had ordered the company to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh to the injured within four weeks of the hearing. The court also denied Patel’s bail application.

Following this, in a hearing on March 8, 2023, the lawyer representing Patel told the court that as he was in jail, the company could not release the compensation amount.

SC asks company to pay up

The High Court had ordered the company to ensure that the first instalment of the compensation was paid to the victims' families by March 22, 2023 adding that the firm should also provide a monthly compensation of Rs 12,000 each to the 12 children who had lost one parent, and the 22 women widowed by the tragedy.

It also asked Oreva to take care of the orphaned children who had lost both parents, until they are adults.

However, Patel challenged the High Court order in the Supreme Court.

Also read: Morbi tragedy: Hospital gets makeover ahead of PM’s visit, draws flak

The Supreme Court on March 22 this year granted bail to Patel, but upheld the directive of the High Court regarding paying compensation to the victims. It also directed the Morbi District and Sessions Court to decide conditions to grant bail to Patel.

Compensation, a must-do bail condition

“The primary condition on which Patel got bail was that the Oreva Group would start the disbursement of compensation to the victims immediately after he got out jail. Patel’s lawyer had maintained that the company was not able to disburse the money as its Managing Director was in jail,” said Vijay Jani, public prosecutor for the case, in the Morbi Sessions Court.

The other conditions for Patel were to surrender his passport, furnish a bail bond worth Rs 1 lakh, not to influence witnesses, not to leave the country without prior permission of the court and submit his passport to the court within seven days, Jani said.

Also read: Morbi, a site of 2 major disasters: Dam burst in 1979, bridge collapse now

“He was also directed to stay out of the district boundary of Morbi till the pendency of the trial except for attending court hearings,” he added.

Besides the compensation amount set by the High Court, the Collector of Morbi, who is a part of the court mandated trust, had directed Oreva Group to pay the marriage expenses for 10 young women who had lost both parents, Jani said.

Tragedy shattered families, hit livelihood

“A compensation amount of Rs 1,40,000 was also set for Aftab Isubhai Rathod, who sustained spine injury in the incident as well as for the reimbursement of medical expenses borne by other victims who underwent prolonged treatment. But none of it has been paid by the company yet,” Jani told The Federal.

Also read: Gujarat: Corroded wires, welded-suspenders led to Morbi Bridge collapse: SIT report

“My wife has not been well since the accident," said Zala, the former taxi driver.

"The shock of losing both her children has left her paralysed. She barely speaks either. Since the accident I have been a fulltime caretaker of my wife. I could not go back to work,” he told The Federal.

Ruing that the Oreva Group is yet to pay the compensation, Zala said the money would be helpful for the treatment of his wife if he gets it on time.

In mid-November, Patel hit the headlines again, this time for a tula daan (donating the equivalent weight of a person in a commodity in a temple, as a form of prayer). At a three-day event hosted by the Kadwa Patidar and Kanya Kelvani Mandal Trust, Patel was photographed sitting on one side of a weighing scale, donating modaks to the gods. The organisers reportedly said the modaks, weighing 75 kg, would be distributed among 60,000 Patidar families as prasad.

Survivors battle trauma

Narendra Parmar, a Morbi-based social worker who is part of the court-mandated trust, told The Federal there are at least 40 survivors who lost their entire families that day and now are battling mental health conditions.

“It is impossible to gauge the magnitude of the loss. There are at least 40 lone survivors of the tragedy who lost their families that day. They are still inconsolable and their mental health is deteriorating each day. There are those who were sole earners but haven’t been able to work since the incident as they have been under prolonged treatment and suffered permanent injuries. Who is answerable for these people?” Narendra asked.

Also read: 10 collapses in 15 days: Why Bihar's bridges are crumbling like cookies

While nine of the 10 accused including Patel have got bail in the case over the past two years, the victims still await justice, said Parmar.

“Apart from some of the people who went to the district administration office to seek immediate financial aid, no one has received compensation,” he added.

Justice, a far cry

Noticeably, even after two years, charges against the accused have not been framed.

In the course of the trial in Morbi District and Sessions court, the case has changed hands between three public prosecutors. SK Vora, the first public prosecutor appointed by the government in 2022, resigned after not turning up for two hearings.

After the second public prosecutor also failed to appear for hearings, Vijay Jani was appointed and is still handling the case.