Morbi (Gujarat): An attempt was made to ameliorate dilapidated conditions overnight at the civil hospital in Gujarat’s Morbi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet the victims on Tuesday who survived the horrific 134-life bridge collapse.
Such tactics of the hospital has drawn strong criticism from opposition parties.
The Prime Minister will be in Morbi on Tuesday morning after the fatal accident of the collapse of the cable suspension bridge over the Machhu river. About 140 people lost their lives in the accident and 47 were children. More than 100 injured people are undergoing treatment, and many of them are admitted to the Civil Hospital in Morbi.
On Monday night, media visited the hospital and found that the work of changing the ‘look’ was going on after midnight, while the PM was going to reach there a few hours later.
Some walls and parts of the roof were repainted, and new water coolers were installed. Bed sheets were also changed in two wards, where around 13 injured people of the bridge accident are admitted. Late in the night, many people were also seen sweeping the entire campus. The old coolers and damaged walls and ceilings seen during this extensive metamorphosis seemed to speak of the reality.
Such “restorations”, which are usually carried out ahead of visits by top government functionaries, have been criticised. Opposition parties Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being busy with ‘event management’ to ensure a ‘photoshoot’ of the Prime Minister.
Calling the accident a “tragedy”, the Congress tweeted in Hindi from its official handle, “Tomorrow PM Modi will visit civil hospital in Morbi… Before that, painting work is going on there… Gleaming tiles are being installed… There should be no shortage in the picture of PM Modi, all arrangements are being made… They are not ashamed…! So many people have died and they are engaged in events…”