Video Editor: Ashish MacCune
Cameraperson: Gautam Sharma
A structural audit report conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently found that over 10 bridges in Mumbai need to be torn down and rebuilt immediately and over 38 others need urgent major repairs. Out of the list of bridges that need to be demolished, only three have been torn down yet.
For the rest, the civic body is administering soil tests and preparing General Administrative Drawings (GAD) and finding alternate routes that commuters can access before a new bridge is built.
But what’s scary is that commuters use these bridges daily without even realising how dangerous they are. The Quint conducts a spot check at four bridges that have been found to be dilapidated but continue being used by commuters who board the local trains daily.
Chandanwadi Foot Overbridge, Marine Lines
The foot overbridge connecting Marine Lines to Chandanwadi, comes under the ‘need to rebuild category’. With rusty railings, chunks of cement chipping off on the underside of the bridge, its not hard to see why the Chandanwadi FOB has been categorised as unsafe.
“I’m using this bridge since 1996, it’s condition is bad now. When many commuters walk on the bridge together, you can feel it shake. They must build a new bridge for commuters’ safety.”Commuter
Curry Road Station Road Overbridge
Located along the central line, Curry Road station is one of the busiest given its proximity to Lower Parel station, which is one of the business hubs of Mumbai. The bridge that leads to the station however, is over 100 years old and has been categorised as dilapidated and needs major repairs immediately. While one side of the bridge has already been shut for monorail work, the other side is still being used by commuters.
Experts believe this deterioration in condition of bridges across the city could have been avoided had the civic body laid out preventive measures.
“I had spoken to the BMC seven years ago about our bridges, especially the Lower Parel bridge, which has now been shut down, where wild Peepal and Banyan trees keep growing from the sides. What stops you from preventively pruning the trees and pouring herbicide? The roots go in (the bridge), during monsoon water seeps into them and this weakens these structures.”Rishi Agarwal, Civic Expert
“Concept of preventive maintenance is absolutely lacking. I guess people enjoy that your asset life deteriorates because then you get to build a new asset quickly and there are kickbacks, etc,” he adds.
Reay Road Station Road Overbridge
This British-era bridge has seen its share of wear and tear and is now classified under the category of bridges that need major repairs immediately. One of the key contributing factors to this could be trespassing. With hundreds of shanties built on both sides of the road, the Reay road bridge has been forced to bear the load of hundreds if people who have been living and carrying out business on it.
“The bridge does shake, BMC tells us that once our shanties are demolished, they will work on it. They keep coming here, assess and then leave. We have been seeing this for years.”Resident, Reay Road bridge
Sion Station Road Overbridge
Sion station receives a footfall of over one lakh daily, causing the condition of the Sion Road Overbridge to become dilapidated. Today, it’s in dire need for repairs. With chunks of cement falling off the ceiling and rusted iron bars holding a large part of the bridge together, it’s not hard to see why the BMC has classified the Sion bridge as one that needs major repairs immediately.
The terrible tragedy at Elphinstone station a year ago that claimed 23 lives and then more recently, a bridge collapse in Andheri that killed two commuters raise serious concerns over the safety of commuters in the Maximum city, but what are the civic bodies doing to address these concerns? That’s yet to be seen.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)