New Delhi: Families of several people who lost their lives in Gujarat's tragic Morbi bridge collapse last year came together at the Sabarmati Ashram on Monday (October 30) to seek justice for those who died.

The 140-year-old bridge collapsed just four days after it was reopened after reconstruction and renovation work, which was assigned to a private company, Oreva Group, by the Morbi administration.

The special investigation team put together to investigative the incident recently concluded that administrative lapses and mismanagement by the company were responsible for the incident.

One hundred and forty one people died and dozens of others were injured as a result of the collapse.

As for the administrative lapses behind the incident, the SIT said that three members of the Morbi municipality – which was swept by the BJP in 2021 – failed to bring the agreement signed between Oreva and the municipality before the latter’s general board.

The families who gathered on Monday, according to PTI, said that in addition to the 10 people already arrested, the others found guilty in the SIT report should also be strictly punished. The 40-odd families gathered under the banner of 'Tragedy Victim Association - Morbi'.

Shabana Pathan, a widow who lost her 19-year-old son Alfaz Khan in the bridge tragedy, has taken a vow to remain barefoot until she gets justice, PTI reported. "I firmly believe that justice has not been served yet," she said.

Several of the people at the gathering had lost young children in the accident. Ganpat Rathod, for instance, lost his son Vijay and nephew Jagdish, both aged 19. "Both Vijay and Jagdish went on the bridge to enjoy their Diwali vacation. There was absolutely no crowd management by the company. People were stuffed like goats on that bridge. We want the harshest punishment for those responsible for this tragedy," he told PTI.

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