Days after a pedestrian bridge collapse in Mumbai claimed six lives, Delhi’s public works department (PWD) closed the Maharani Bagh foot overbridge on Ring Road due to its ‘bad condition’.

The PWD will dismantle the facility as it is “beyond repair”. Officials said the FOB was anyway scheduled to be razed in the coming months for the Ashram flyover extension project.

The department has made temporary arrangements for pedestrians to cross at grade. It has also written to the traffic department to install a traffic light at the spot so that people can cross the road easily.

But the move is likely to lead to heavy traffic snarls on the busy Ring Road.

According to PWD officials, the overbridge was constructed in 2004-05 for pedestrians and residents of Maharani Bagh, Kilokari village, Siddharth Extension and Sunlight colony to cross the arterial road.

“The FOB is in a dilapidated condition, so we shut it from Sunday to avert any untoward incident. Overloaded trucks and large containers used to hit the pedestrian bridge, damaging it severely over a period of time. We had put a height barrier just ahead of the FOB and repaired it many a time but to no avail,” a senior PWD official said.

Instead of repairing it again, PWD decided to dismantle it keeping in view the Ashram flyover extension project that is expected to address the congestion problem on Ring Road.

The proposal envisages extending the existing flyover at Ashram crossing by constructing a 1.2km elevated road up to the Delhi Noida Direct (DND) Flyway.

The official said they had written to the Delhi election office to grant permission to call tenders for dismantling the FOB. “After the model code of conduct kicked in, we have to take permission before inviting bids or starting any new work. We will begin dismantling the FOB as soon as we get a go-ahead from the EC,” he said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Praveen Kumar said immediately after the Mumbai tragedy, he had written to the PWD to close the FOB due to its dangerous condition and had asked the traffic department to put a signal here. “Pedestrian movement on the bridge has now been closed. A zebra crossing has been drawn on Ring Road near the FOB for pedestrians. The traffic department assured they will look into the possibility of a traffic signal for the hassle-free movement of pedestrians,” Kumar said.

Dismantling of the FOB may cause traffic congestion on Ring Road as pedestrians will now have to cross at grade.

“The Maharani Bagh-Ashram stretch is infamous for traffic snarls and pedestrian crossing on the road will make the situation worse. A pedestrian signal will certainly slow down vehicular movement on this arterial road,” Shubendu Sirish, a regular commuter on the stretch, said.

First Published: Mar 20, 2019 06:23 IST