Editor's Pick: Suspension bridge collapses in Gujarat, several dead

Over a 100 were killed after more than 350 people fell into the Machchhu river when a newly renovated colonial-era suspension bridge collapsed on Sunday in Morbi town of Gujarat. The more than a century-old bridge, which had reopened a few days ago after extensive repairs and renovation by a private group, was crammed with people when it collapsed Sunday evening. It has emerged that the bridge was reopened without a safety audit and the nod of the local civic body. It is also not known how the Oreva group — which specialises in CFL bulbs, wall clocks and e-bikes — was awarded the contract to maintain and manage the bridge by the Morbi municipality. The State government has set up a five-member committee to inquire into the incident. The Prime Minister has also announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the PM’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each of the deceased. Originally built by the erstwhile princely state of Morbi, the bridge was considered a marvel of British engineering. Locally known as the Julto Pool, it is one of the tourist attractions of Morbi, a major industrial town. This is, however, the second major tragedy in the town, where over 3,000 people died when a dam broke in 1979. Meanwhile, PM Modi’s scheduled roadshow has been cancelled while the Congress party has postponed its State-wide yatra from five different routes in the wake of the massive tragedy in Morbi barely a few weeks before the state goes for the Assembly polls. The Congress has also demanded a probe headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge into the incident and sought financial and medical assistance from the government for all those affected. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here. The Hindu’s Editorials United against terror: On UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee meeting in India A bird in the hand: On Twitter under Elon Musk The Hindu’s Daily Quiz The appointment of Rishi Sunak as Britain’s Prime Minister triggered some heated discussions on minority rights in India. Which political figure said that while the U.K. “accepted an ethnic minority member as its PM”, India was still “shackled by divisive & discriminatory laws like NRC & CAA”? Former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee To know the answer and to take the quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 31 OCTOBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Suspension bridge collapses in Gujarat, several dead Over a 100 were killed after [more than 350 people fell into the Machchhu river]( when a newly renovated colonial-era suspension bridge collapsed on Sunday in Morbi town of Gujarat. The more than a century-old bridge, which had reopened a few days ago after extensive repairs and renovation by a private group, was [crammed with people when it collapsed Sunday evening.]( It has emerged that the bridge was reopened without a safety audit and the nod of the local civic body. It is also not known how the Oreva group — which specialises in CFL bulbs, wall clocks and e-bikes — [was awarded the contract to maintain and manage the bridge]( by the Morbi municipality. The State government has set up a five-member committee to inquire into the incident. The Prime Minister has also announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the PM’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each of the deceased. Originally built by the erstwhile princely state of Morbi, the bridge was considered a marvel of British engineering. Locally known as the Julto Pool, it is one of the tourist attractions of Morbi, a major industrial town. This is, however, the second major tragedy in the town, where over 3,000 people died when a dam broke in 1979. Meanwhile, PM Modi’s scheduled roadshow has been cancelled while the Congress party has postponed its State-wide yatra from five different routes in the wake of the massive tragedy in Morbi barely a few weeks before the state goes for the Assembly polls. The Congress has also [demanded a probe headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge into the incident]( and sought financial and medical assistance from the government for all those affected. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. [Click here.]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][United against terror: On UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee meeting in India]( [Arrow][A bird in the hand: On Twitter under Elon Musk]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz The appointment of Rishi Sunak as Britain’s Prime Minister triggered some heated discussions on minority rights in India. Which political figure said that while the U.K. “accepted an ethnic minority member as its PM”, India was still “shackled by divisive & discriminatory laws like NRC & CAA”? - Former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti - Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor - AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi - West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee To know the answer and to take the quiz, [click here.]( Today’s Best Reads [[Azam Khan’s conviction, disqualification from Assembly create a flutter in U.P.] Azam Khan’s conviction, disqualification from Assembly create a flutter in U.P.]( [[Wall clock, e-bike maker Oreva group at centre of Morbi bridge collapse] Wall clock, e-bike maker Oreva group at centre of Morbi bridge collapse]( [[ICC T20 World Cup 2022 | Virat Kohli lambasts ‘fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy’ after video of his hotel room leaked online] ICC T20 World Cup 2022 | Virat Kohli lambasts ‘fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy’ after video of his hotel room leaked online]( [[‘Give me rice!’: Bappi Lahiri classic becomes anthem for millions of locked down Chinese] ‘Give me rice!’: Bappi Lahiri classic becomes anthem for millions of locked down Chinese]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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