It should have been a perfect outing. Last Sunday, Divya, 21, and her family took her excited niece and nephew to cross the famous pedestrian suspension bridge that since colonial times had swayed gently above the wide Machchu river in the western Indian city of Morbi.
The bridge had just reopened after a renovation overseen by its operator, a subsidiary of a corporate group better known for making electric clocks. But as hundreds of holidaymakers crowded on to the narrow walkway, it suddenly collapsed. Divya was hurled into the weed-snarled water below and 135 other visitors were killed — including her niece and nephew, aged six and four.
The disaster has sent shockwaves through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat ahead of important legislative assembly elections next month.