The setting up of suicide barriers at Vashi bridge will be further delayed as the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is taking up maintenance work of the Vashi creek bridge, an engineer with MSRDC has said.
The maintenance work was transferred to the MSRDC in January 2019 from the Public Works Department (PWD), which was in the process of appointing a consultant for finalising the design and construction cost of the bridge.
The MSRDC engineer said, “Our first target is maintenance. Later, we will change the street light poles on the bridge. Only once this is done, we will take up the suicide barrier work.”
A work order of ₹25 lakh has been given to a private firm for the maintenance of the flyover and roads. The engineer said, “The maintenance will go on for at least a month. After that, we will float tenders for replacing close to 200 street light poles and lights. The design of the poles will be changed and new LED lights will be installed for better illumination.” The cost of changing the street lights is estimated to cost around ₹2.5 crore.
From 2015, the Vashi police have been writing to the PWD to increase the height of the fencing around the bridge or put up barbed wires to deter people from attempting suicide at the spot. The PWD started a ‘suicide-barrier’ project at an estimated cost of ₹1.5 crore for the old bridge and ₹4.5 crore for the new bridge.
The PWD initiated the process of appointing a consultant to finalise the design and cost in December 2018. On January 9 this year, a Government Resolution was issued announcing the handing over of the maintenance of the bridges to the MSRDC.
The first suicide attempt at the bridge this year was by a woman from Nerul on February 11. She was rescued by fishermen from Vashi village. The same day, a 53-year-old man from Charkop allegedly jumped from the bridge. His body has not yet been found.
