Morbi Tragedy: A 140-year-old bridge, which fell into the Machhu river on Sunday evening in Gujarat’s Morbi, was renovated at a cost of about Rs 2 crore.

The bridge was opened to the public on the occasion of Gujarat New Year, and the company, which renovated the bridge, claimed that it will sustain for next 8- 10 years, Jaysukhbhai Patel, Managing Director of Oreva Group, said this during a press conference on October 24.

Jaysukhbhai Patel had said that if people act responsibly without damaging the property, it can survive for the next 10 years.

Entry fee to manage crowd

Responding to questions from local journalists, managing director Jaysukhbhai Patel had said that as we know, the bridge was constructed at a time when there was not much technology. Only wooden planks and beams were used to build the bridge.

Patel had said that they will charge an entry fee to limit the entry and manage the crowd. He said that the fee will be fixed for those coming in large groups, while we will give a discount to the students.

According to media reports, the bridge was opened to the public ahead of time by the Orewa Group.

It is claimed that there were around 500 people on the “hanging bridge” when the cable broke on Sunday evening, causing hundreds to fall into the river. According to officials, the bridge can only carry the weight of 125 people.