While officials of the MMRDA are happy to announce that all their 36 skywalks are soon to be either partially or fully opened, a new can of worms is likely to open with the issue of escalators on the walkways.
While officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) are happy to announce that all their 36 skywalks are soon to be either partially or fully opened, a new can of worms is likely to open with the issue of escalators on the walkways.
While an escalator, constructed for Rs55 lakh, is ready for use since past four months at the Bada Masjid exit of the Bandra (West) skywalk, it is yet to be opened.
Additional metropolitan commissioner Ashwini Bhide said that almost all the skywalks will be either partially or fully opened by next week. “We have opened 35 out of the 36 either partially or fully. The skywalk at Kandivli (East) is likely to be opened partially by next week. This will mean that technically the skywalk project is complete,” said Bhide. She added that the skywalk in Kandivli (East) will also have an escalator.
However, MMRDA officials now have a different kind of worry. Though they have said that the escalator is ready for use since October, there is nobody to give it a security and safety clearance. According to sources in the authority, no agency has been earmarked to certify safety and security of these escalators.
“While the public works department (PWD) clears the elevators in various buildings, it has no technical know-how in clearing and certifying the escalators. “In case of private buildings, the civic body as well as our authority relies on the manufacturers for giving such clearances,” said a senior MMRDA official.
The authority has also decided to plan the advertising outsourcing plan from scratch. After opening the first skywalk in Bandra (East), the authority cracked a Rs79 crore deal with Reliance Big Outdoor advertising company in August 2008. However, the contract could not materialise after the company backed out citing various reasons.
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