No lessons learnt after Morbi: Tourists drive car on hanging bridge meant for two-wheelers in Karnataka

Just two days after a suspension bridge collapsed in Gujarat, some tourists were seen driving a car on a similar hanging bridge, meant for two-wheelers, near Yellapura town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. 

The incident happened on the Shivapura suspension bridge, which is 5 km from Sathodi falls – a popular tourist destination in Uttara Kannada.  

The bridge, which connects Yallapur to Uluvi and Dandeli, is meant for pedestrians and two-wheelers. However, a video has surfaced in which a group of people can be seen driving a Maruti car on the bridge. But they could not get to the other side as the car was stuck right in the middle. 

It can be seen in the video that the car could not move as there was barely any space on either side. Also, some locals noticed the car and immediately alerted the official. 

Reports suggest that the locals forced the car driver to move back. The car driver claimed that he wasn’t aware that the bridge was meant for two-wheelers. He saw bikes traveling and assumed cars could cross too.

This comes just two days after a British-era suspension bridge collapsed in Gujarat’s Morbi, claiming 135 lives. The bridge in Morbi was inaugurated just a few days before the tragic incident. 

As the video of the collapse went viral, some people on social media pointed out that the crowd was huge and they were shaking the bridge which might have contributed to the collapse besides other factors like negligence.