Charni Road foot overbridge: Re-construction on hold after high-voltage cables, fibre optical wires found

The structure is already under phase-wise reconstruction by the BMC’s bridges department when the incident occurred, with its north side having been demolished by the civic body. It had been declared as a “dilapidated” structure in May.

The re-construction work of Charni Road foot over bridge (FoB) has hit a road block after high-voltage cables and fibre optical wires connected to the railway signal system were found underneath. According to the officials of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the work to reconstruct the FoB, a portion of which collapsed on October 14, leaving one person injured, can commence only after these cables are moved to another location.

Meanwhile, the officials of Western Railway claim that the project will not face any delay. After part of the staircase of the FoB collapsed on October 14, the bridge connecting Thakur Dwar in Girgaum and Babasaheb Jaykar Marg to the Charni Road railway station was shut by the BMC. The FoB, shut for nearly a month, has inconvenienced the locals.

The structure is already under phase-wise reconstruction by the BMC’s bridges department when the incident occurred, with its north side having been demolished by the civic body. It had been declared as a “dilapidated” structure in May.

The work had to be stalled after the high-voltage cables connected to railway signal system between Mumbai Central to Churchgate were found underneath, BMC officials said. “The tender for the work was floated and contract too was awarded. And work had already commenced. Unless the high-voltage cables are moved and shifted to a safe location, the work will have to be stalled,” said a senior official from the BMC’s bridges department.

However, railway officials have denied any such delay in the work. “There are regular meetings among representatives of both the agencies. Both are extending equal support to each other in getting the work done. However, sometimes such cases come up where we take time to find a safer alternative to install the cables/system. In this case, it is not going to delay the project,” said a spokesperson of western railway.