Few take the foot-overbridge on Santacruz-Chembur Link Road in Kurla West owing to the steep climb and absence of lights
Mumbai: Safety is too pedestrian for these Kurla commuters
The barricade that has been broken by residents to enable them to cross the dangerous stretch CST Road in Kurla West. Pic /Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Pedestrians seem to be a liability. Neither are lights installed on the foot overbridge (FOB) on the congested near CST Road, near the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR), in Kurla West nor is the bridge kept clean. This forces pedestrians to take the SCLR, putting their lives at risk.
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It’s been some five years since the FOB was constructed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. But bridge is barely used, even by pregnant women and the elderly, owing to the steep climb. Residents of nearby Buddha Colony and Kapadia Nagar find crossing the CST Road the lesser of the two evils.
This morning, mid-day’s photographer saw that barricades set up on the median of CST Road were removed, and pedestrians were crossing willy-nilly even as cars were speeding on the stretch. Three pedestrians died between November 2015 and March this year on the same stretch while crossing the road. In the wake of the deaths, barricades were erected on the median.
Locals had in the past alleged that the FOB turns into a den of anti-social elements and drug addicts during late nights and had demanded adequate lights on the stretch and an escalator. To date, no action has been initiated on the demands.
People crossing the road at SCLR this morning
RTI Activist Anil Galgali, who has been following up on issues related to the SCLR, said he frequently takes the stretch, and has seen people risking their lives by crossing the road. “The MMRDA and the MSRDC, while constructing the FOB, should have conducted a proper study and designed it in such a manner that pedestrians are not inconvenienced. The authorities should immediately erect barricades on the gaps on the median that allow pedestrians to cross the road, install escalators and set up lights along the FOB. Besides, the police should conduct frequent surprise checks on the FOB and take action against the anti-social elements.”
Despite repeated attempts, MMRDA officials were unavailable for comment.
mid-day’s report on March 12 on the inaction on pedestrian deaths on the stretch
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