Residents of Dharavi will have to wait longer to see the proposed 1.5 km skywalk, as civic authorities are yet to reach a consensus on who is going to construct the bridge, connecting Mahim railway station to Dharavi
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will write a letter to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) stating that development authority should construct the Rs 20 crore skywalk, as they had initiated the plan. Pedestrians and motorists have long complained about the traffic woes faced by them at Dharavi T-junction.
The proposed 1.5 km long skywalk in Dharavi will cut down on pedestrian accidents on one of the busiest stretches in the city. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
ADVERTISEMENT
Confirming the same, MHADA Vice President Satish Gavai said, “MHADA had decided to construct the skywalk in Dharavi only after the MMRDA declined to construct the skywalk. But as the new metropolitan commissioner has said recently that the MMRDA would construct skywalks wherever necessary, I will be writing a letter to him saying that MMRDA should construct a skywalk connecting Mahim station to Dharavi T- junction.”
Looking back
The concept of skywalks was introduced by the MMRDA in Mumbai during the tenure of then MMRDA Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad. However, it was soon observed that the constructed skywalks were not getting good response from the general public following, which MMRDA decided that they would not build any more skywalks.
Last year, Dharavi residents had requested MMRDA to construct a skywalk connecting Dharavi T-junction with Mahim Railway station. The MMRDA turned down the demand. Later in a meeting with chief minister and chief secretary, the housing authority was asked to build the skywalk.
However, MHADA made it clear that government should provide funds for the project. MHADA had also planned to approach the slum board to get funds. “We don’t have a problem constructing the skywalk but the main problem is funds, thus we will ask MMRDA to implement the project,” a source from MHADA said.
Residents have to face a lot of problems while crossing the busy T-Junction in Dharavi, which connects the Mahim-Sion Link road and Sion-Bandra Link road junction. Sources in MHADA told this newspaper that the slum board has some surplus funds, and the authorities are checking if the same can be utilised for the project.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
