An eerie silence surrounds Reva Township in Morbi, the place managing director of Oreva Group, Jaysukhbhai Patel, stays. The township is primarily occupied by workers of the corporate and Patel, who has not been seen in public since Sunday’s accident, stays on the seventh flooring of one of many condo buildings when he’s on the town. He and his household in any other case spend their time in Ahmedabad.
“The opposite flats are occupied by employees employed by Jaysukhbhai,” says Satpal Maliwal, a safety guard stationed exterior the condo constructing. There’s a palpable worry amongst workers who’ve gathered within the stilt car parking zone of the society to debate the accident’s aftermath. “We’re afraid, our youngsters are afraid ever because the bridge collapsed. Our peaceable lives are abruptly threatened,” mentioned a lady who refused to disclose her title.
A person, who was a part of the gathering, mentioned that Oreva workers listed below are frightened about their future and insecure about their jobs. “It isn’t as if Jaysukhbhai deliberately brought on the bridge to break down,” he added, additionally refusing to be recognized. “He offers employment to individuals who don’t wish to work within the ceramic business on this city,” the person mentioned. There stays uncertainty about Jaysukhbhai’s whereabouts. Rahul Tripathi, superintendent of police of Morbi, mentioned: “I received’t touch upon his location.”
Oreva Group acquired the contract to keep up the cable bridge in Morbi that collapsed on Sunday, resulting in the dying of 135 individuals, together with 48 youngsters. Patel, 65, had opened the bridge for the general public on October 26, the Gujarati New Yr. Morbi municipality chief Sandeepsinh Jhala mentioned on Sunday that the native physique was not knowledgeable concerning the opening.
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In Morbi, with a inhabitants of 267,531, in response to 2011 Census, Patel is a revered determine and Oreva, one of many largest firms working within the city whose major business is tile-making, though there are a number of clock making items (additionally a legacy of Oreva, however extra on that anon). Many intersections sport boards that say the realm is maintained by Oreva Group. Native municipal authority officers mentioned the group has at all times contributed in direction of augmenting civic facilities and likewise been a giver for social causes. A municipality official who requested to not be named mentioned the group funds academic scholarships and offers free well being care services to the poor.
The bridge
On Tuesday, Gujarat authorities lawyer H S Panchal, searching for the remand of 4 workers of Oreva Group, alleged that the Oreva Group modified solely the platform of the bridge, utilizing four-layered aluminum sheets throughout renovation, and that the part of the cable which snapped, inflicting the accident was discovered to be weak and rusted. A number of police officers have aired the idea that the load of the brand new base might have brought on the cable, which was previous, to snap. It isn’t clear what testing the bridge went by way of earlier than it was reopened. Oreva Group has not issued an official assertion concerning the renovation or the accident.
Oreva renovated the bridge and it was opened to the general public on October 26, 4 days earlier than it collapsed on Sunday. The corporate gave the sub-contract of ₹2 crore to slightly identified Dhangadhra-based contractor Devprakash Answer for restore of the 150-year-old iconic bridge that has been a serious vacationer attraction in Morbi.
The Morbi municipality in March this yr re-engaged Oreva for the upkeep, operation and safety of the bridge for 15 years. The municipality had a contract with the corporate between 2005 and 2018 for sustaining the bridge.
Between 2018 and 2022, the Oreva group and Morbi municipality had been negotiating to resume the 2018 contract for 15 years.
Oreva is believed to have overseen an earlier renovation of the bridge in 2007.
The contract was given with out inviting any tender, authorities lawyer Panchal knowledgeable the courtroom on Wednesday, saying that there was “no tendering course of” and that the identical contractor and sub-contractor had been merely signed on by the company.
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Patel inaugurated the bridge alongside together with his members of the family on October 26. He additionally held a press convention forward of it, claiming, in a now viral video, that the bridge was prepared for guests and will perform with none drawback for 8-10 years.
It lasted 4 days.
Odhavji R Patel
Lengthy earlier than it emerged as India’s ceramic hub submit the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, Morbi was identified for its clocks. The city grew to become standard, particularly for its Ajanta model of clocks, made by an organization based by the late Odhavji R Patel, hailed as father of the Indian wall clock business.
He started his journey as an entrepreneur in 1971, organising a small partnership agency, Ajanta Transistor Clock Manufacturing Co. He ran the enterprise from rented premises, manufacturing magnetic clocks with coils. Within the mid-Nineteen Eighties, Odhavji Patel moved to quartz expertise, realising quartz clocks would exchange mechanical ones, and Ajanta Quartz got here into being.
These clocks had been easy and offered an accuracy that was earlier out there solely on massive, costly pendulum clocks. They didn’t require a lot upkeep and had been smaller. The quartz clocks had been an instantaneous success.
Many in Morbi recall the contribution of Odhavji R Patel in placing the small industrial city on the worldwide map. “Within the Nineteen Nineties, we had been identified the world over attributable to Odhavji. He offered jobs to so many locals in his firm when getting a job was not straightforward,” mentioned Mansukhbhai Patel, who as soon as labored for Ajanta Quartz.
The cut up
Odhavji’s son Jaysukhbhai Patel based Oreva, named after his father and mom, Reva. Oreva is especially into the manufacture of dwelling home equipment and e-bikes. The corporate was shaped earlier than the partiarch’s sons parted methods about seven years in the past.
“Odhavji Patel was a philanthropist who donated generously and put Morbi on the worldwide map with Ajanta. The members of the family have fastened enterprise duties. The elder brother Pravin Patel and his household maintain clock manufacturing with Ajanta whereas Jaysukh Patel and his household take care of Oreva. The third brother Bharat Patel isn’t very energetic within the household companies,” mentioned Shashank Dangi, president of the Morbi Wall Clock Producers’ Affiliation.
Odhavji R Patel additionally based ORPAT (OR Patel) Industries, additionally named after himself. The corporate is into dwelling home equipment and wind power and is run by Pravin Patel and his household.
Jaysukhbhai Patel has sought to comply with father’s footsteps of being a philanthropist. He runs a college for poor youngsters, has funded the constructing examine dams, and arrange a hostel for 1,500 ladies in Morbi.
Oreva’s company workplace is in Ahmedabad the place the household spends a lot of their time, making brief visits to Morbi frequently, in response to individuals near Jaysukhbhai Patel. Oreva group has constructed a business advanced in Morbi, Oreva Landmark, which homes Shiv Ajanta lodge. The lodge shut down after working for 2 years, whereas the institution continues to be useful with just a few retail tenants.
“Jaysukhbhai joined palms with a Kutch primarily based group for beginning a lodge chain however the enterprise was not profitable,” mentioned a number one industrialist from Morbi who spoke on situation of anonymity. He put the Oreva group’s turnover at round ₹700-800 crore.
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Oreva has two manufacturing services, one at Morbi and one other one at Samakhyali in Kutch. The Kutch plant was initially deliberate to fabricate vitrified tiles but it surely was shut down attributable to a change in expertise which made their merchandise outdated, mentioned a Morbi primarily based distributor in tiles who spoke on situation of anonymity.
The corporate makes and sells numerous merchandise, switches, snacks, electrical bikes, electrical mosquito-killing racquets, CFLs, telephones, calculators and watches, apart from digital clocks.
Patel has additionally aired the concept of organising a toy-making industrial park in Morbi and corresponded with the state authorities on this.
“He got here up with the concept of a toy park. He needed us to cease imports from China, particularly plastic. His group isn’t into toys however he needed the clock producers right here to diversify into this enterprise. Jaysukhbhai pitched the concept to the federal government,” mentioned Dangi.
Patel has additionally give you the concept of changing the biodiversity-rich Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) into an enormous candy water lake, stopping sea water ingress into the salt marsh from Hadakiya Creek close to Surajbari, an concept that has are available in for sturdy criticism from environmental teams.