After Gujarat HC rebuke, all eyes on SC to save Hope Bridge

With the Gujarat High Court (HC) rejecting the PIL filed for ordering a stay in the demolition of the Hope Bridge of Surat, petitioners have decided to move the Supreme Court (SC). An application has been made at SC, asking it to accept a Special Leave Application (SPA) in order to save the famous bridge.

The group which is fighting against Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the state government in this case, consists of IAS and IPS officers. Through advocate Shivmangal Sharma, the petitioners have asked SC to accept their SPA and stop the work of dismantling the bridge. A copy of their SPA has been forwarded to SMC officials too.

The letter urged the SMC officials to halt their work for two weeks, and wait for the judgment of the SC.  

"We have received a letter from Shivmangal Sharma, who is the advocate of petitioners wanting to save Hope Bridge. However, it is impossible for us to stop the work in progress for two weeks, because we feel that the judgement of the HC is enough for dismantling the bridge," said Jatin Shah, city engineer of SMC.

According to Shah, the plan for the demolition was chalked out after taking all things into consideration.

"Even if the bridge is repaired, it will be unfit for traffic movement. If it is restored as a monument, then Nehru Bridge alone (connecting Chowk Bazaar and Adajan) will not be able to handle traffic congestion. Building a new bridge in place of Hope Bridge is the need of the hour," Shah added.