The work on two crucial bridges in south Mumbai, the Hancock and the Carnac Bunder bridges, is stuck, all because of 40-odd shanties that have encroached upon the entrance of the Hancock bridge in Mazgaon. Civic officials said that the fate of Carnac Bunder bridge also hangs in the balance, since it cannot be demolished until the Hancock bridge is constructed and opened for public use.

Civic officials from the bridges department said that 80 per cent of the piling work for Hancock bridge has been completed, which is the first stage of the project, and the remaining can only be done once the encroachments have been removed. It is now the responsibility of the ward officials to remove these shanties.