With disappearing tiles and security concerns, the walkway is fast becoming a nightmare for pedestrians.
It may be the first skywalk in the city, but this has not helped ensure that it has been maintained properly. Broken and missing tiles which can cause pedestrians to trip and fall, broken steps on staircases which have edges sharp enough to draw blood, missing tube lights on some stretches, lax security and occasional encroachments by hawkers. This is the state of the skywalk at Bandra (East) which was commissioned in 2008 by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
Incidentally, officials admit that the Bandra (East) and the Santacruz (East) sky walks are among the busiest skywalks in the Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) which see the highest number of footfalls. A stroll on the two arms of the skywalk from Bandra station (East) to the Bandra Court and from the station to Kalanagar junction reveals the sorry state of affairs.
The stretch from the Bandra station to Bandra court is worse off with tiles missing from the flooring in pockets, which may cause commuters to trip, fall and hurt themselves, and a portion of the roofing coming off. Worse, some of the tiles which have come apart from the flooring have been kept on the very edges of the carriageway, which is risky for people walking underneath in case a falling tile hits them. Some portion of the stairs on the upper end of the staircase at the Bandra court side have all but disappeared forming a bottleneck for commuters and some parts of these stairs have edges sharp enough to draw blood in case pedestrians accidentally brush their feet against them. This part, commuters admit, is very troublesome to negotiate, particularly for senior citizens and women and especially so during rush hours.
Some tiles on the skywalk have also been chipped away exposing a hollow bottom, which may cause mishaps and problems for commuters. Moreover, at times, some hawkers also intrude on the skywalk at the Bandra station-end to peddle their wares.
Commuters also demanded that escalators be installed for the ease of the elderly and infirm.
The 1.3 kilometre stretch from the Bandra Station to Kalanagar junction is relatively better off though the comparatively lesser number of footfalls ensures that security remains a concern.
Commuters using the skywalk regularly complain that tubelights are off on some stretches which may cause security issues and law and order problems especially for women at night. “I do not think I will dare and walk on the skywalk at night. Security must be tightened to ensure that the space is not misused especially at night by anti-social elements,” said a pedestrian, who works in one of the government organisations based in Bandra and uses the skywalk regularly. The commuter added that the authorities and the police needed to ensure that the carriageway under these skywalks was not misused by putting up hutments.
When contacted by DNA, Dilip Kawathkar, Joint Project Director, MMRDA, said they had given instructions to take remedial action. “All repair work will be carried out in time,” he added.
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