More than two months after the Himalaya Bridge near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) collapsed, the Mumbai Police on Friday wrote to the railway authorities, asking them to repair the damage to foot overbridges (FOB) in their jurisdiction.
Parts of the Himalaya Bridge on D.N. Road, close to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters, came down on March 14, killing seven people and injuring 31. Following the incident, the BMC had removed the bridge.
While Neeraj Desai, whose firm conducted a structural audit of the FOB, was the first one to be arrested in the case, Sandeep Kalkute, an assistant engineer with the BMC, was arrested on April 1, followed by his immediate superior and reporting head Anil Patil, who was arrested on April 3. While the investigation against Mr. Kalkute and Mr. Patil is under way, supplementary charge sheets are expected to be filed soon.
Senior police officers confirmed to The Hindu that Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve had written to the general managers of both Central and Western Railways earlier this week. According to sources, the letter said that while structural damage is for experts to assess, at least the visible damage sustained by bridges be repaired at the earliest to avoid another tragedy.
Western Railway (WR) officials confirmed they had received the letter and that appropriate action was being taken.
Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer, WR, said, “We are continuously monitoring the health of our bridges, and repairs are being undertaken where any visible damage is seen.”
While there are 445 road overbridges, FOBs and bridges that go over the water pipelines in the city, the BMC has 274 bridges within its purview.
WR has over 100 FOBs on the Mumbai suburban section, while Central Railway has 191 in the Mumbai division. WR earlier this week closed an FOB at Dadar station that will now be dismantled. Following the collapse of the Himalaya Bridge, the BMC had said it will re-audit 81 other structures in its jurisdiction.
