Mumbai: After Andheri-bridge collapse, cracks found on Grant-Road station bridge
(PTI desk)
Cracks were found on a bridge at the Grant Road station in south Mumbai, hours after an over-bridge collapsed at a railway station in suburban Andheri, the city's civic body said today. The cracks were found on the Frere bridge at Grant Road station around 11.30 pm yesterday following which the traffic was diverted, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
Mumbai Police updates commuters via Twitter
BMC engineers asked to monitor the bridge's condition
Engineers of the BMC's bridges department and other agencies have been asked to monitor and assess the condition of the Frere Bridge, an official in the civic body's disaster management unit said. An over-bridge at a railway station in Andheri collapsed yesterday during heavy rains, disrupting train services, injuring five people and putting the spotlight once again on the creaky infrastructure of the metropolis.
Railways, BMC, IIT-Bombay to conduct joint safety audit
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal had visited the accident site and ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of Rail Safety. He had also said that during the next six months, a joint-safety audit will be conducted by the Railways, the BMC, and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, at the 445 road over-bridges, foot over-bridges, and bridges over pipelines in Mumbai to improve commuters' safety.
Final action plan to come out in a week
The BMC today said the structural audit of 274 bridges was underway and a final action plan for repairs, maintenance and reconstruction will be prepared within a week.
Bridges will be divided into four categories according to condition
"The good bridges would be the ones that do not require any immediate repairs," BMC's chief engineer (bridges) Shitlaprasad Kori said. Kori said minor repairs of bridges would include fixing tiles and leakages, while the ones having structural flaws will require major repairs. Under the fourth category, the bridges which are in a dilapidated condition will be demolished and new ones will be constructed.
Kori says Andheri bridge was Western Railway's responsibility
Kori said the Gokhale over-bridge that collapsed yesterday was constructed and owned by the BMC, but it was the Western Railway's responsibility to maintain it. "In the last four years, we have paid Rs. 92.51cr to Central Railways and Rs. 11.25cr to WR after they submitted the estimated reconstruction and maintenance costs of various infrastructure owned by us located on their premises," he said.
Kori denies charges of optic-fiber by BMC causing Andheri-bridge collapse
Kori denied WR's claims that the optic-fiber cable, sanctioned by BMC, may have led to the collapse of the Gokhale over-bridge. "This is not the time to indulge in 'blame game'. Everyone knows an optic-fiber cable weighs almost negligible. Maybe, the permission was granted at the local ward level, but railway's nod is a pre-requisite condition for laying out the optic-fiber cable," Kori added.
