‘We have lost’: Residents accept defeat as Elphinstone Bridge closes

By 10 pm on Friday, two hours before the official closure time, both ends of the bridge had been barricaded, and drilling work began to break the approach roads

Mumbai: As the official time for the Elphinstone Bridge’s closure—Friday midnight—crept closer, preparations began on multiple fronts.

Mumbai, India. Sep 12, 2025: The Elphinstone Bridge in the Prabhadevi area of Mumbai was closed for two years. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will demolish the bridge and construct the new Elphinstone Bridge along with the Seree-Worli Connector. Mumbai, India. Apr 09, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

To enforce the closure, over 250 police officers were deployed at both ends of the bridge late in the evening. On the other side, residents of the 19 buildings to be affected by the demolition and reconstruction prepared to gather and stop the closure, unsure if they would be successful again for the third time since April.

However, before they could attempt an encore, MMRDA officials and the police made quick work of the job. By 10 pm, both ends of the bridge had been barricaded, and drilling work began to break the approach roads. The protesting residents, having been served notices from the police warning of legal action if they impeded the MMRDA’s work, retreated into the shadows, accepting defeat.

“We were too few in numbers to do anything,” said Kamal Chheda, a shop owner in one of the affected 19 buildings. “The police were present in large numbers and armed to the teeth. Many of us residents were scared of police action against us. And our local MLA, Kalidas Kolambkar, who had earlier promised us support, backtracked on his word and asked us to step back. We have lost.”

A few hours ago, at around 7 pm, the residents had gathered at Kolambkar’s office in Naigaon, hoping for some answers and support. The MLA told them he would fight for their demands and gave them his blessings for a protest. “If required, we will protest,” he told the crowd, who left with no fewer questions.

At 9.30 pm, however, when residents started trickling near the bridge, Kolambkar and MLC Prasad Lad, both from the BJP, asked the residents to instead take another course of action. “They told us they had spoken with (BJP minister) Ashish Shelar, who spoke with the chief minister, who has promised us a meeting in the next 10 days regarding the cluster redevelopment of our buildings. As this is an international project, we were asked not to attempt to stop it,” said a doubtful Chedda, who watched Kolambkar break a coconut on the road to mark the start of the project.

“All we got is the repeated assurance we have been repeatedly getting, with nothing written. I am unsure what they’re going to be able to accomplish in the next few days that they haven’t in all these days,” he added.

As the drilling continued post 10 pm, the few gathered residents and onlookers slowly dispersed, disappointed in the ineffectiveness of their fight. “I was given warnings by the police to be nowhere near the bridge, so there was little I could do unless I risked my life and freedom,” said Munaf Thakur, a resident of the Haji Noorani building.

The residents left the broken bridge in much the same position they were in when they had successfully protested its closure back in April: with vague assurances of rehabilitation for the two structurally affected buildings, Haji Noorani and Laxmi Niwas, in the area, and promises of cluster redevelopment. All their questions remain unanswered.

Chetna Desai, a senior citizen in the Laxmi Niwas building, said, “This is a matter of our homes. They have not shown us the homes, told us where they will be, when we will be asked to shift, etc. Our homes are our gold; they’re in a prime location, near the station, of good sizes, and we have built our lives around them. We deserve an equivalent in return.”

Anil Kumbhare, joint commissioner of police (traffic), said, “MMRDA will do the barricading, while we will stop the flow of traffic. Additional forces have been deployed to divert traffic to the diversions of Currey Road Bridge and Tilak Bridge.”