Local people from Lower Parel and Curry Road are expressing their dissatisfaction with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) over the extended delay in building the second arm of the Delisle Bridge. They took a proactive strategy, such as taking their kids to the building site and displaying signs asking authorities when the suspension bridge would be completed.
According to Gaurav Sankapal, an official of the Lower Parel Bridge Kurti Committee, the bridge has been blocked for a period of five years. Despite many pledges, the work is yet to be finished. “Now the BMC says that a single lane will be opened towards N. M. Joshi’s side arm on September 18. However, our demand is that the BMC open the full bridge on September 18”, he said.
“We have written to Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde and Civic Chief I S Chahal, pleading with them to open the entire bridge on September 18. “If the authorities do not open the entire bridge, we will stage a massive protest,” Gaurav added.
According to a BMC official, the single lane of the bridge’s second arm, towards N M Joshi Marg, would open on September 18, just in time for Ganesh Chaturthi. The entire bridge will be finished by the end of October 2023. On June 1, the first arm of the bridge opened. Initially, the BMC expected to open the bridge’s second arm by the end of August. “Work was halted due to heavy rain and a lack of gravel. Because of this, we had to extend the timeline for the bridge opening”. an official stated.
“Local residents, kids, and leaders from several political parties gathered at Lower Parel on Wednesday, September 13, to express their dissatisfaction with the protracted delay in completing the construction and reopening the second arm of the Delisle bridge”, according to a report.
“The youngsters were spotted waving signs at the construction site, questioning authorities about when the bridge will ultimately be ready, as they were the most affected. Locals claim that a five-minute walk to school has become a 30-minute drive in the previous 5–6 years since the bridge was closed. Due to traffic congestion on the Elphinstone overpass following the closure of the Delisle bridge, students commuting to Dadar for school must travel for nearly an hour”, the report said.
They have told the city council that if the bridge fails to be finished by September 19, the start of Ganeshotsav, locals will either open it personally or proceed on a hunger strike to protest the delay.
Ulhas Mahale, deputy municipal commissioner (infrastructure), responded by saying thatthe northbound lane of the bridge towards N M Joshi Marg will be open to the public before Ganeshotsav. The entire bridge will be finished by the end of October 2023″.
Residents created the ‘Lower Parel Udaanpul Nagrik Kruti Samiti,’ which translates to the Lower Parel Flyover Citizen Action Committee, to demand that the bridge be opened as soon as possible. Speaking at the ceremony, Maruti Dalvi, a local politician who emphasised the BMC’s callous attitude and corruption, stated, “It has now been five years since the bridge has been closed.” They continuously push back the deadlines. We have written to the CM, and we have visited with the BMC’s Additional Commissioner (Projects) and other BMC officials, yet the bridge remains closed. There have been numerous extensions. They previously stated that it would open on August 31, but it is still closed.”
A member of the Lower Parel Bridge Kruti Committee remarked, “The BMC should now open the entire bridge”.
“Regardless of political party, we have come together because the bridge affects day-to-day life in our area,” Dalvi remarked. “Residents claim that every day, children from seven different schools and patients from three different hospitals are affected. Every day, school buses and ambulances get delayed in gridlock”.
“The BMC assured us the date of September 18, 2023, for the reopening of the bridge, but if it fails to do so, citizens will observe the fasting in protest,” said Gaurav Sankpal, another committee activist.
“Commuters, particularly school students, face difficulties in getting to school every day.” Holy Cross School, opposite Currey Road, is a 5-minute walk away, crossing the bridge; however, the school buses take alternate routes, and it is now a 30-minute drive.