Is BMC waiting for kids to die?

400 school students are forced to cross the 15-ft deep Kurla creek using a rickety bridge that has been hanging for over two weeks, while BMC is still 'inspecting'

While the city puts up with ever-widening potholes and friable bridges every unrelenting monsoon, there is one overpass that cries for immediate attention this season, if a disaster is to be avoided.


Several cracks have surfaced on the bridge and the structure has
developed a dangerous tilt that makes walking on it a hazardous task.
Even the metal railings have come off in several places

The pedestrian bridge on the Kurla creek, popularly known as Kurla nullah that cuts across a clump of water mains and wild foliage, collapsed 15 days ago.

And the 400 children who go to school on its other side and some 2,000 residents of the area must tread on the death trap hanging precariously because there is no other way to get across.
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Civic officials maintain that repairs cannot be done until after the monsoon.

'Out of order'
As the children struggle to cross the bridge, which has dented at an angle and slopes downward into the creek by almost a feet and a half, BMC officials visit it every alternate day to inspect it.

In lieu of an urgent overhaul that the ramshackle structure warrants, a warning board by the BMC greets the children and others who may use it.

Written in Marathi, it urges people not to use the bridge that connects Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Nagar to the main road near Anik Nagar bus depot.
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It further says that should any untoward incident occur despite the warning, the civic body will not be responsible.

While the BMC has taken care to absolve itself in the event of a mishap, it has refrained from mentioning an alternative path, a glaring omission considering that the pendulous bridge is the only route for kids and parents wanting to reach Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil and Sanskar Vidyalaya, the two schools that lie over yonder.

Residents rattled
Sandip Musale, a Standard X student from Patil school, said, "I have a tough time crossing this bridge after the collapse. When it rains, it becomes slippery. My parents are afraid that I will fall."

The creek below is approximately 15 feet deep. The bridge, in better times, was three feet above the creek. After the collapse, it has lowered down to 1.5 feet.

The heavy rains that have lashed the city in the past few days have aggravated the menace for residents.

Devki Yadav (25) was struggling to cross the bridge with her kids when she said, "I have a four-year-old and six-year-old and it is difficult to manage them while crossing the bridge. The rains do not help the situation.
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You can't stop kids from being naughty. The more time its repair takes, the more the kids are at risk."

What's worse, the pathway submerges in the dark after dusk for want of proper lighting. Riya Verma, a Standard VII student at Sanskar, said, "In the night, returning from tuitions is scary.
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This area is poorly lit. One misstep and I could land in the creek below."

The bridge was built nine years ago by MHADA under the then NCP MLA Nawab Malik, who expended his MLA's funds for it.

Said another local Jai Patil (56), "The bridge had been repaired six years ago. But two weeks ago in the night, it suddenly collapsed. Walking on it is perilous for older citizens and children."

Officials speak
Prashant Pillai, junior engineer of L Ward under which the bridge falls, said, "One angle of the bridge has broken. The BMC and MHADA have been informed about it, and the latter will repair the bridge.
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But it cannot be done during monsoon. Once the rains are over, the work will commence. The MLA fund will bear the costs."


Despite a BMC notice warning against using
the bridge, people have no choice but to do so

Until then, it seems like the residents will have to risk falling into the water every time they venture on it.

MiD DAY's findings
When this reporter made an attempt to walk on the bridge, she found that it was difficult to hold one's own without grasping at the railing.
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The danger of falling down is very real, especially while walking on the wrecked part. The rain has made the bridge slippery. Managing an umbrella, holding on to the railing and walking the stretch of the bridge was an ordeal.

All the more so for kids who must brave the pouring rain to get to school, and for their parents who accompany them for fear that they might fall down in the creek below.

The Other Side
Arvind Jadhav from the BMC's Maintenance Department, who was at the site for inspection, said, "We are surveying the repairs that need to be undertaken on the bridge.
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There is some structural damage which we will try to repair."

His colleague Tanmay Sawant added, "We understand the inconvenience caused, especially to children, and the risk posed by rains. We are trying our best to solve the problem as soon as possible."

400
Number of students that cross the bridge everyday to get to school

15
Number of days since the bridge developed a dangerous dent in the structure

2,000
Number of residents that use the bridge on a daily basis

15ft
Depth of the Kurla creek