Ganesh mandal upset as BMC set to repeat 'don't stop, don't dance on bridges' warning again

As Ganesh mandals across Mumbai gear up to celebrate the festival with full gusto after being restrained by the COVID pandemic for two years they will have to again stop revelry on several bridges that are old and weak The BMC will likely repeat its lsquodonrsquot stop donrsquot dance on bridgesrsquo message for Ganpati processions this time as well Mandals wondered why the rickety bridges were not fixed in the past three yearsVigorous activities on the overpasses many of which are old and weak could trigger mishaps said officials Ganeshotsav will start on August 31Also read BMC waives off all restrictions on height for private and sarvajanik idolsA procession of Lalbaugcha Raja File picThe collapse of Gokhale bridge at Andheri and Himalaya foot overbridge FOB at CSMT in 2019 had prompted the civic administration to check the status of other ROBs and FOBs The BMC had then brought a list of 20 bridgesmdashrunning over tracks of the Central and Western railwaysmdashwhere processions could go in batches No one was allowed to dance on these bridges The list also included the new Milan bridge which was later dropped While the restrictions did not mean anything in the next two years as the festival was muted due to the pandemic the governmentrsquos decision to lift all curbs has renewed focus on these bridges ldquoThe guidelines were issued as a precautionary measurerdquo said a BMC officialIn a meeting with BMC officials and cops managing committees of Ganpati mandals like Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Samanvay Samiti Mumbai Suburbs Shri Ganesh Utsav Samanvan Samiti and Akhil Bhartiya Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mahasangh it was decided to keep all routes of processions on the line of 2019Lalbaugcha Raja on Chinchpokli ROB in 2019ldquoMany of them are ageold and under the process of repair or reconstruction so the guidelines will be similar to that of 2019 It is better to avoid crowds and dance on the bridgesrdquo said Satish Thosar chief engineer of the BMCrsquos bridges departmentHarshad Kale deputy municipal commissioner and nodal officer for Ganesh festival said they have received a list of bridges where there are weight restrictions ldquoWe will come with an advisory for these bridges once the Independence Day celebration is overrdquoA Ganpati procession at DadarlsquoWe will follow butrsquoGanesh mandals have agreed to respect the safety guidelines but wondered why the bridges were not fixed in the past two yearsSwapnil Parab secretary of Ganesh Galli Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal said ldquoThe BMC should have taken care to build or repair these bridges during the pandemic when there was minimal traffic Perhaps they were busy tackling health issues We will follow the guidelines but our volunteers would like to know how BMC allows heavy trucks on these bridges but restricts devoteesrdquoVasudeo Sawant secretary of Chichpokli Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal offered a similar counter ldquoThe Chinchpokli bridge cannot take more than 18 tons at a time so the BMC wanted to close the bridge But after our opposition they allowed 50 volunteers with the Ganpati idol The repairing of the bridge is going on and we can understand their concern But why donrsquot these restrictions apply to dumpers and other heavy vehicles We can feel the vibrations when these heavy vehicles pass on the bridge We raised our objections during the meeting with the BMCrdquo he said The BMC has entrusted the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation also known as MahaRail with the responsibility of rebuilding 10 ROBs and 1 road underbridge in Mumbai and suburbs Sources said BMC and Central railways officials are considering a proposal by MahaRail to reconstruct the Chinchpokli bridgeTo be rebuilt by MahaRail Ollivant ROB Mazgaon Arthur ROB Ghatkopar ROB Lower Parel ROB Bellasis ROB Garden ROB S Bridge Tilak ROB Dadar Reay Road ROB Currey Road ROBDangerous bridges Byculla ROB Chinchpokli ROB Curry ROB Marin Lines Grant Road Sandhurst French bridge near Charni Road Kennedy near Grant Road Falkland near Mazgaon Bellasis near Mumbai Central Mahalaxmi Prabhadevi Dadar Tilak ROB Veer Savarkar Goregaon Sudhir Phadke Borivli Dahisar ROB VileParle ROB Gokhale Andheri Ghatkopar ROBInputs from Rajendra Aklekar