Residents appeal WR to open FOB for general public

Mumbai Commuters and members of Watchdog Foundation on Tuesday requested the Western Railway (WR) to open the south end foot over bridge for general public at Andheri station

Mumbai Commuters and members of Watchdog Foundation on Tuesday requested the Western Railway (WR) to open the south end foot over bridge for general public at Andheri station. This will aid commuters to cross from Andheri east to west.

An ariel view of the Gokhale Bridge

“The closure of Gokhale bridge has led to utter chaos in traffic management. This has increased traffic near Andheri subway and at Vile Parle as well. Commuters cannot even walk and cross over to the opposite side and this is why we are requesting the railway for foot over bridge to be allowed public access,” said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee, Watchdog Foundation.

A few residents and the members of the foundation conducted an inspection of the bridge as well on Tuesday. Moreover, the signature petition started online by residents of Andheri and Vile Parle saw around 4000 signatures by Tuesday evening. This petition was to appeal for the bridge to be built by the army on war footing.

Meanwhile, WR is waiting for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take a decision on the same. “Unless we do not receive any communication from BMC or related authorities, we cannot take any action regarding this,” said a senior officer from WR.

Guardian minister of Mumbai suburbs, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, on Friday, will meet officials from BMC and railways, asking the two agencies to swiftly expedite Gokhale flyover work. Meeting scheduled for Friday afternoon in Mantralaya.