Mumbai Port Trust to repair crater in wall around sea at Gateway of India

The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) will conduct a structural stability assessment of the retaining wall around the sea at Gateway of India. The MbPT will ask their engineers to get on to the job soon and the repairs will be taken up shortly.

The decision for the assessment came after a huge crater as wide as 10 ft and as deep as 20 ft was seen on the footpath near Radio Club at Apollo Bunder on Wednesday.

Yashodhan Wanage, deputy chairman MbPT, has said that the contractor have already taken up the work for temporarily filling the portion and barricaded if for safety. "Work for the temporary repairs has already been taken up. The engineers and the contractor have been asked to assess the structural stability of the entire retaining wall. After this assessment, engineers will weigh the possibility of the techno-feasibility of repairing and conservation of the entire wall," Wanage told dna.

Last Wednesday, morning walkers from the area alerted the civic body's A ward office about the crater. Chandrashekhar Chore, assistant commissioner of the ward immediately sent his staff to barricade the portion of the footpath so that nobody goes near the caved-in portion.

Chore informed the Public Works Department (PWD) but they conveyed that the work will be handled by the MbPT as the wall was built by the port trust authorities. "We contacted MbPT and requested them to take up immediate steps. The engineering department of MbPT swung into action and took up necessary measures. Once the wall is repaired and the crater filled by the MbPT authorities, we will repair the footpath so that it can be opened for the pedestrians," said Chore.

A BMC staffer present at the site said, "We could see water gushing out from the broken retaining wall around the sea. It could possibly be because of soil erosion."