Residents rally against Dharavi Matunga FOB closure

On Wednesday and Thursday, residents staged protests near the FOB and dismantled blue metal sheets erected by authorities to block the staircase, with the backing of political leaders across parties

Mumbai: The foot over bridge (FOB) connecting Dharavi with Sion, which was earmarked for closure ahead of the Ganpati festival after a structural audit revealed it was unsafe, continues to remain operational as Dharavi residents have no other way to access schools, colleges and markets located in Sion.

According to local residents, the FOB is primarily used by students as 10-15 educational institutions, including schools and colleges, are located in Sion. Domestic workers and drivers residing in Dharavi also take the FOB regularly to reach Matunga, King’s Circle and Sion. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

On Wednesday and Thursday, residents staged protests near the FOB and dismantled blue metal sheets erected by authorities to block the staircase, with the backing of political leaders across parties.

Paul Raefel, a Dharavi resident who was present at the protests, said the FOB is used by several hundreds of people everyday.

“The authorities are simply shutting it down without taking into consideration the impact and inconvenience it will cause, especially since the FOB is the only link between Dharavi and Sion as the Sion ROB (road over bridge) is being reconstructed,” Raefel said.

According to local residents, the FOB is primarily used by students as 10-15 educational institutions, including schools and colleges, are located in Sion. Domestic workers and drivers residing in Dharavi also take the FOB regularly to reach Matunga, King’s Circle and Sion.

The half-decade-old FOB, called Matunga Dharavi FOB, was among four FOBs earmarked by the Central Railways (CR) for closure ahead of the Ganpati festival, after they were found to be in a dilapidated condition and unsafe for use. The other three FOBs were the Bhandari FOB at Masjid, the Masjid station FOB, and the Matunga Level Crossing FOB at Bhau Daji Road.

All four FOBs were inspected jointly by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and CR officials on August 27 and structural audit reports for the four FOBs were submitted by IIT Bombay on August 31.

Regarding the Matunga Dharavi FOB near Guru Nanak High School, the BMC wrote to the CR, saying, “The FOB…has been observed to be in a distressed condition, structurally unsafe, with deterioration and corrosion affecting critical structural components. In view of the observed distress and considering the potential risk to public safety, it is strongly recommended that the FOB be closed to pedestrian traffic immediately and the structure be considered for demolition and reconstruction.”

Though the FOB belongs to the BMC, the portion over the rail tracks will be demolished by the CR with help from the civic body.

CR officials said the BMC had requested them to close the four FOBs for pedestrian use and ensure that no pedestrian movement took place until further directions. But as on date, only the Bhandari FOB had been shut and the three remaining FOBs were operational.

“The three FOBs need to be shut on urgent basis as they are in distressed condition and pose risks to people using them as well as the trains passing beneath them. In case of any untoward incident, will the people objecting to their closure take responsibility,” a CR official asked.