Not safe: Mumbai-dwellers lose access to 29 bridges

The re-audit of bridges in the western and eastern suburbs resulted in another 15 bridges being declared as dangerous. The earlier audit had said that 14 bridges are in a dilapidated condition. However, the demolition and reconstruction of these bridges are going on at a slow pace and until it is done, locals have no access to 29 bridges.

The re-audit of 81 bridges of South Island is yet to be carried out. Before the collapse of the Himalaya Bridge at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on March 14, the civic body had conducted a survey of all 344 bridges in the city, out of which 14 were declared as dilapidated.

The then municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta ordered a re-audit of the bridges as the auditor concerned had only suggested minor repairs for the Himalaya Bridge. A re-audit of bridges in the eastern and western suburbs has therefore been carried out. "According to a recently conducted survey, another 15 bridges get added in the dilapidated list. All these bridges are over nullahs and are not major ones," a civic official said.

There were 262 bridges in the eastern and western suburbs, the auditors had already asked for the demolition of 11 of them and the civic body had already demolished five. There is also a change in the number of bridges that require minor and major repairing.

Firm D D Desai Associate Engineering Consultant and Analysis had audited 82 bridges in the South Island. The BMC blacklisted the consultant after the Himalaya Bridge mishap and advertised fresh tenders for a re-audit. The civic body received only one response to the tenders and it is yet to be sanctioned by the standing committee.

Meanwhile, the bridge department couldn't start demolishing the other bridges due to a shortage in manpower. There was a mass leave of 42 engineers against the arrest of the former HOD. "The demolition of 21 other bridges cannot be completed before the monsoon season. So, we have put up barricades along these bridges to shut access. The repair work and reconstruction will start after the rainy season," a senior officer from the civic body said.

The BMC ordered an audit of all 344 bridges in the city after the Gokhale Bridge at Andheri collapsed in July 2018. The auditors then found 14 bridges as dangerous and in need of reconstruction.

...Better Than Cure

Re-audit of 81 fobs of South Island yet to be done

Already Demolished 

• Yellow gate FOB
• Marine Lines south FOB
• Marine Lines north FOB
• Bihari Bridge, Kandivali
• Hari Masjid, Kurla 
• Barve Nagar, Ghatkopar west FOB
• Veer Sambhaji Nagar FOB

Dangerous ones

• Omkareshwar Mandir, Kandivali
• Vitthal Mandir, Iraniwadi
• SVP Road, Kandivali
• Khairani Raod, Sakinaka
• Haris Bhugra Marg, SCLR
• SBI Colony, Dahisar
• Walibhat nullah, Goregaon East 

Newfound Threats

• Vakola pipeline service road bridge 
• Juhu Tara Road bridge over nullah
• Dhobi Ghat Majjas Nullah Bridge
• Meghwadi Nalla, Shyamnagar, Andheri
• Bandra Dharavi River bridge
• Ratan Nagar to Daulat Nagar Bridge, Kandivali 
• Oshiwara Nullah, SV road in Goregaon 
• Piramal Nullah, Link Road, in Goregaon
• Chandawadkar Nullah, Link Road, Malad
• Gandhi Nagar, Kurana Village in Malad
• Prem Sagar Nullah, SV Road, Malad
• Factory Lane, Borivali
• Kannamvar Nagar, Ghatkopar