The move by the authorities to abruptly renovate the Morbi Civil Hospital ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to tragedy-hit town in Saurashtra has drawn flak from various quaters.
Short clips and photographs of the hospital being painted and its floors re-done went viral on social media and some local television channels. A new water cooler being set up at the hospital also was shown in the clips. The video also shows an old water cooler without taps.
As per official figures, 136 persons lost their lives when the hanging bridge over river Machhu in Morbi collapsed on Sunday evening. The bridge was overcrowded beyond its capacity.
Nine persons, including people from the Oreva Group that managed the bridge, have been arrested. However, the names of those arrested were not mentioned in the FIR.
While the PM is expected to reach Morbi after 3 pm on Tuesday, former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela was one of the first to criticize the administration’s move of cleaning up the civil hospital through social media.
In his post written in Hindi, Vaghela said that the one who has ordered doing up of the hospital should be ashamed. The clean-up was not done when it was necessary and now the painting is being done at a time when the country is mourning the deaths.
Pointing fingers at the BJP, while talking to THE WEEK, Vaghela said that these are people who would find an opportunity in someone’s death. “This is all a drama. Why don’t you file an FIR against the Company that managed the bridge and others who have been responsible,” he questioned.
Vaghela alleged that Modi shed crocodile tears at his address in Kevadia on Monday. “If he was so concerned, he should have also removed the cowboy hat that he was wearing,” said a close associate of Modi during the RSS period.
Several social media handles of Congress and AAP supporters are full of images and videos of the hospital being cleaned up.
A disaster like this is the last thing that the ruling BJP in Gujarat would have wanted ahead of the assembly elections. The poll dates are expected to be announced soon after Modi returns to New Delhi. His three-day Gujarat visit ends on Tuesday.
At a time when the good work done by the locals is being hailed and the government being questioned about the manner in which the accident took place, Gujarat BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave on Monday evening took to social media to share a newspaper clipping that showed Modi’s work during 1979 Machhu dam tragedy. A fault in the dam led to water flooding the small town and the casualties were above 1,400. Modi was an RSS worker then and he along with his colleagues had taken part in relief operations.
