Bandra Skywalk to Be Dismantled For Metro Line; Residents Unhappy

Part of Bandra skywalk to be pulled down. (Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia commons)

Bandra West’s skywalk will be demolished to make way for the Metro 2B line which will run from DN Nagar in Andheri to Mandale in Mankhurd via Bandra, reports Mumbai Mirror.

Operational since July 2010, the skywalk has recorded an average footfall of 30,000 commuters during the morning as well as the evening peak hours on a daily basis.

Pravin Darade, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA stated that the flank from Bandra Masjid towards Bandra Talao and the foot overbridge will be dismantled to make space for metro viaducts.

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The skywalk, which runs from platform 1 at Bandra station to SV road, has six entry-exit points beginning from BEST depot, Mohd Rafi Chowk, Nandi lane near Ram Mandir, Baazar Lane and Badi Masjid.

While the section of the 864-metre long skywalk running from the centre of SV Road will be razed, the length of the structure going towards Bandra station will remain, Darade further said. It will be integrated with the Metro station, he added.

The length of the 23.5-km elevated Metro corridor on this stretch will be 200 metres, according to Basavraj MB, Chief engineer of Metro project implementation unit, MMRDA.

Residents are disgruntled with the decision to tear down the skywalk, which cost a whopping Rs 28.74-crore to build. They were already unhappy with the Metro line going over the congested SV road, which was likely to increase commotion, and now this development has only made things worse.

Hansel D’Souza, a member of Juhu Citizens’ Welfare Group, expressed his discontentment by saying that this decision proves how the country operates on bad planning. Adding to this, Anil Joseph, chairman of Perry Road Residents’ Association in Bandra (West) told Mumbai Mirror that the skywalk, from its inception, was a huge waste of money.