Gokhale Bridge delay: Irate residents demand action against BMC officials

Mumbai: The delay in the reopening of Gopal Krishna Gokhale Bridge, an east-west connector in Andheri, will increase traffic woes this monsoon, residents fear.

The local BJP MLA, Ameet Satam, has requested Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to ensure that the bridge opens at the earliest.

Bridge to reopened by mid-November

As per the new deadline, the bridge will be reopened by mid-November.

The BMC had earlier committed to reopen one arm of the bridge before monsoon. But the supply of steel was affected due to a strike at the Rourkela plant of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

The BMC has now placed an order with another manufacturer, Jindal, but assembly of girders will be possible only during dry spells. So the civic authority has now clarified that they will reopen the bridge during Diwali.

Residents worried about traffic situation in Andheri

However, residents are worried about the traffic situation in Andheri, which may worsen during the monsoon.

Dhaval Shah from Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association (LOCA) said: “The work should be put on fast track so that the five-month delay can be cut to two-three months. Action should be taken against civic officials, contractors, and everyone else involved in the delay of reconstruction of the bridge. Why should people suffer due to failure of civic officials?”

“It seems there was a maximum of three-month delay in the delivery of steel, which does not justify the five-month delay in opening one lane of the bridge,” Satam wrote in a letter to the CM.

“The bridge in the BMC portion should have been completed by now as per earlier timelines, which means June. It is pertinent to note that the steel delivery has nothing to do with the completion of the bridge in the BMC portion. The BMC was not serious about the job.”

Additional Municipal Commissioner P Velrasu visited the bridge site again on Thursday. He also instructed civic officials to complete most of the work before the monsoon.