KDMC initiates demolition of unsafe portions of Kalyan skywalk

The demolition of the stairs of the skywalk will also help with the ongoing Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) project at Kalyan station under the Smart Cities Mission

The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has initiated the work to demolish some portions of the railway station skywalk in Kalyan (West), after the staircases of the structure were declared unsafe in an audit by the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) in May 2019.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) had in May 2019 in an audit declared the staircases of the structure as unsafe. (Rishikesh Choudhary/ Hindustan Times)

“The demolition of the stairs has begun as they are unsafe. We are taking all the precautionary measures during the work. Commuters have been asked to avoid the area where the work has been undertaken,” said KDMC city engineer Sapna Koli.

The demolition of the stairs of the skywalk will also help with the ongoing Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) project at Kalyan station under the Smart Cities Mission.

“There is a requirement of removing some portions of the skywalk to build SATIS at the station. So we are undertaking that work as well. The station area will be decongested in the coming days with SATIS project,” an official of Smart Kalyan Dombivli Corporation Limited (SKDCL) said.

Kalyan residents have claimed that the demolition is a waste of money.

“Crores of rupees were spent on the skywalk, and within a few years, the authorities are demolishing it. Why can’t they maintain it? The money spent on the skywalk is a waste now,” said Manoj Kukreja, 39, a resident of Tilak Chowk, Kalyan (West), who takes the skywalk to connect to station.

The skywalk was built in 2009 by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to decongest the station road and help commuters walk out of the station. It was opened to commuters in 2011. A total of ₹60 crore was spent for the 1,675-metre-long and 4-7-metre-wide skywalk. In 2014, it was transferred to KDMC for upkeep.