Morbi (Gujarat): The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday in its interim orders while hearing a petition related to the Morbi bridge collapse tragedy directed the Oreva group to disburse compensation to be awarded to the victims. The group, which was managing the bridge, has been asked to provide a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the kin of each deceased in the bridge collapse. The company has also been ordered to provide a compensation of Rs 2 lakhs each to the injured when the suspension bridge collapsed on October 30 last year.
Jaysukh Patel, the Managing Director of the Oreva company, had submitted to the Court that the company has proposed to award Rs 5 lakhs compensation to the family of the deceased. The High Court told the company that the amount proposed was very less and doubled it. The amount to be paid by the Oreva group will be in addition to Rs 10 lakhs paid by the state government as a solatium.
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The British-era bridge over the Machchu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30, 2022, in which 135 people lost their lives while 72 suffered injuries. Video footage of the incident emerged capturing the moments of the deadly collapse. It showed the bridge snapping in a few seconds, and taking down scores of visitors who were seen walking on the suspension bridge which had been reopened only a few days ago after being shut-down for maintenance.
