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Thane police shut 153-year-old Kalwa bridge

Earlier, following the collapse of the Mahad bridge on Savitri river on Bombay-Goa highway, Thane's Alert Citizens Forum had written to the authorities to stop vehicular movement on the bridge to avoid similar tragedies.

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Thane traffic police on Thursday said that they have shut down the movement of vehicles on the 153-year-old Kalwa bridge. "Movement of heavy vehicles was stopped since the bridge was declared a heritage structure four to five years back. Only two-wheelers and auto rickshaws were allowed. But now, only bicycles and pedestrians can use it," said a senior official from Thane traffic police.

Earlier, following the collapse of the Mahad bridge on Savitri river on Bombay-Goa highway, Thane's Alert Citizens Forum had written to the authorities to stop vehicular movement on the bridge to avoid similar tragedies.

Built in 1863, Kalwa bridge in Thane is a heritage structure. The bridge, which is a connecting link between Thane, Kalwa, Navi Mumbai and Dombivli, has caught everyone's attention after the Mahad bridge collapse on August 2 night. "Life of this bridge is long over and a new bridge adjoining it has already been commissioned 20 years ago. Now, a third bridge is also being planned to decongest traffic in the area," said Dayanand Nene, president of Alert Citizens Forum. Nene wrote to Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), Public Works Department (PWD) and other authorities to stop vehicular movement on Kalwa bridge.

The 350mtr-long bridge has 10 pillars and 10 arches. The forum claims that 10 years back one of the pillars was damaged by a barge traveling in the creek below and since then the PWD stopped movement of heavy and medium-range vehicles on this bridge.

"Whether the structure is fit enough is not known and whether a structural audit of it was done or not is also not known," he said.

Hence, in light of the Mahad incident, the forum demanded to immediately stop movement of all vehicular traffic on the bridge to avoid any mishap. "We demand that the bridge may be sealed and at best only pedestrian movement be allowed, and that too after a fitness survey is done and made public," he added.
 

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