Six Western Railway (WR) officials and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are responsible for the Gokhale Bridge collapse that killed two in Andheri last year, revealed a probe report by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS). The probe was ordered after the pathway of the bridge fell on the tracks at Andheri railway station on July 3.

Sushil Chandra, CRS of the western circle, submitted the 200-page report to the WR last week.

The report states that two assistant divisional engineers and three bridge inspectors were “primarily” responsible for the collapse, while one engineer was “blameworthy”.

The BMC was held “secondarily” responsible for not taking permission for laying cables (under the bridge) and paver blocks (on the bridge), which added a load of 124 tonnes on to the bridge and triggered the fall.

“We recently received the report and will examine the findings, which will then be shared with departments concerned, and necessary action will be taken,” said Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relation officer, WR.

The report states that “the accident occurred owing to heavy corrosion and pelting of cantilever steel supporting the pathway, resulting in thinning down of section and pathway of the road over bridge (ROB).

This was contributed by an additional load of 124 tonnes of various cables, tables, paver blocks etc. provided by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), without prior permission of the Western Railway.”

It states that the corrosion occurred owing to improper surface protection inside steel brackets.

The report questions if railway officials undertook any inspection of the bridge between 2014 and 2017, as WR does not have any documents related to it.

However, a railway official, on condition of anonymity said, “The bridge was inspected between 2014 and 2017, but the inspections were not documented properly.”

Meanwhile, the report states the civic body must henceforth seek permission from the Railways for tile blocks, and laying cables under the ROB.

It recommends a new department for construction and inspections of ROBs and foot over bridges (FOBs) by the WR.

The department should be headed by a senior administrative grade (SAG)-level officer, who will take responsibility of the bridges and tracks on the city’s suburban railway network.

One of its recommendations is to examine the bridge inspectors who do not belong to bridge cadre and are posted in the department.

“They should be judged and certified by the chief bridge engineer. The ones who are already posted should also be examined on competency,” mentions the report,

“The penalty or disciplinary action against the officials will be defined after looking into the report and taking the departments under consideration,” said a railway official, who did not wish to be named.

First Published: Jan 25, 2019 01:12 IST