Mumbai Crumbling: From bridge collapse, bus crash to fire; the spirit of Mumbaikars challenged

— By  | Jul 03, 2018 07:50 pm

The spirit of Mumbai has been challenged again and although everything may seem fine for those at home sipping on a hot cuppa enjoying the rain, the downpour has created havoc on this day July 3. It has been almost a year since the Elphinstone bridge stampede that shook the maximum city, but today’s incidents shook the spirit of Mumbaikars. From bridge collapse, bus accident to fire at railway station, today will go down in history as one of those days that left us questioning, if Mumbai is crumbling?

We all are aware that the financial capital is unstoppable. Be it the floods of 2005 or the horrifying terror attacks on 26/11, Mumbai has kept it together. But isn’t this a wakeup call for authorities who wish to upgrade Mumbai? We take a look at the disastrous events that have maligned the city in just a day.

Andheri bridge collapse


Railway and rescue workers gather around a site where a portion of a pedestrian footbridge collapsed over a railway track. / AFP PHOTO / Punit PARANJPE

It was a regular Tuesday morning until Gokhale Bridge, on S.V. Road, which connects Andheri East and Andheri West caved in on the Western Railway (WR) tracks around 7:30 am following incessant rain, leaving five persons injured, and creating a scare among the commuters. The collapse affected Mumbai’s lifeline- suburban train services which takes around eight million commuters to ferry around the city. The cause for this mishap is suspected to be heavy overnight rains and water logging near the structure.

Motorman Chandrashekhar Sawant, an ex army man was quick enough to stop the train 50-60 metres away when he realised something was wrong with the bridge. He applied emergency brakes and averted a major tragedy saving hundreds of lives.

Fire at Kamala Mills

Reportedly, a fire broke out in a building at Kamala Mills compound in Lower Parel due to a shot circuit. The fire broke out in the B wing of the Trade Centre. The blaze was brought under control with no casualties reported so far.

Double decker bus crashes into overhead railing near Mumbai University

A BEST double decker bus crashed into an overhead railing near Mumbai University in Kalina, Santacruz area. According to reports, the double-decker bus was from heading to Santacruz’s Kalina area from Bandra. After the incident, parts of the bus were damaged, no casualties were reported so far. Despite the mishap, BEST deployed additional bus services so commuters would not be stranded with the already hit train services.

Fire at Mira Road station ticket window

A fire broke out in an under construction ticket window at Mira Road railway station with no injuries reported so far. Work of the ticket window on platform 4 was underway when commuters noticed fire and raised an alarm. The cause of fire is still to be ascertained. The fire was however brought under control.

Fire at Virar station

Dahanu local caught fire on the Western Railway route near Virar. The cause of fire is suspected to be short circuit. The fire, which broke out at 6.50 pm, affected the power supply to all four lines at Virar station, forcing the authorities to run trains only up to Vasai and Nallaspora. Thirty services were cancelled. As per Hindustan Times, the Western Railway officials said the power supply was restored and the services to Virar and beyond were resumed. WR officials said trains were not being sent to and from Virar station. All suburban trains were being taken to Nalasopara, delaying the services by almost 30 minutes.