The civic body has finally begun the work to reconstruct the CSMT's Himalaya Bridge, which collapsed in 2019, but a row between the BMC and a neighbouring institute could delay the progress. Anjuman-I-Islam institute, founded in 1874, has objected to one modification in the design — the landing of the bridge's staircases, which it says would block the view of the heritage building.

‘Will block view’

Under the original plan for reconstruction, the landing of the bridge would have completely blocked one of the gates of the institution. Dr Zaheer Kazi, the president of Anjuman-I-Islam, said, “We made several representations to the BMC, as the staircases will block our entry and exit, and as our strength has now increased from what it was back in 1980, we need both our accesses free. They have told us that they can land the staircases between the two gates, but that will block the heritage view of our building altogether."