At Least 134 Dead With Yet Another Failure in India’s Infrastructure

The colonial-era bridge is among a collection of attractions in the quaint town of Morbi, whose ceramic tile industry draws workers from across India. It was a favorite meeting place for young lovers to escape parents’ prying eyes, said Devyesh Pithva, who a decade ago met the woman who became his wife on the bridge. He had visited the structure on Friday, and, out of a sense of poignancy, returned to the site of the disaster on Monday.

In March, the bridge’s operations were awarded to Ajanta Manufacturing, a local clock and electronics manufacturer.

Ajanta’s founder, Odhavaji Patel, was known in India as the “father of wall clocks.” The company he ran before his death also makes light bulbs and toothpaste. What is unclear from business records is whether Ajanta had any experience operating bridges before taking over the one in Morbi.

After winning the contract, Ajanta, which also goes by the name Oreva Group, managed seven months of repairs on the bridge, which had been in poor condition. The structure reopened four days before the disaster, timed to coincide with the Gujarati New Year, on Oct. 26.

When Mr. Pithva visited the bridge on Friday, two days before the disaster, he said, there were as many as 500 people crowded onto it. He waited 20 minutes for a clearing to take a photograph with his family.

“You could actually hear people breathing, it was so tight,” Mr. Pithva said. “I have an emotional bond with this bridge, and when I heard the news, I felt like I was going down with my family.”

On Monday, scrutiny turned to how Ajanta had won the contract, and to whether the company had ties to the Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., which has governed Gujarat for more than two decades and which also controls the national government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.