Bandra east skywalk to remain shut till August end: BMC to HC

According to two-page the affidavit, following the collapse of the Himalaya foot overbridge, the BMC had undertaken a structural audit of 23 such bridges.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in its affidavit to the Bombay high court (HC), said the Bandra (East) skywalk had been shut owing to a structural audit being carried out by the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) and will remain shut until the VJTI submits its report. The report is expected around the end of August.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in its affidavit to the Bombay high court (HC), said the Bandra (East) skywalk had been shut owing to a structural audit being carried out by the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) (HT FILE)

During a previous hearing, petitioner KPP Nair had informed the bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog that 10 lakh passengers had been inconvenienced after the BMC shut the skywalk from Bandra station to Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The bench had directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), under whose jurisdiction the skywalk falls, was asked to explain the closure. However, as the MMRDA has handed over the skywalk to BMC on an as-is-where-is basis, the BMC responded to the HC query.

According to two-page the affidavit, following the collapse of the Himalaya foot overbridge, the BMC had undertaken a structural audit of 23 such bridges. The affidavit further states that VJTI has been entrusted with the task of conducting the audit and it will submit its report by the end of the month. Till the report is submitted the skywalk will remain closed and further steps will be taken based on the findings of the report, the affidavit concludes. The matter was posted for hearing on Wednesday but did not come up for hearing. Nair said he will be mentioning the matter for urgent hearing seeking directions to the BMC to expedite the work and ensure that the inconvenience to the daily users is reduced.