BMC issues advisory ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi, urges caution on 13 dilapidated bridges

The civic body has urged devotees not to wait on these bridges for a prolonged duration, avoid dancing on these structures and ensure fewer people participate in immersion processions.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has urged people to take precaution while using 13 bridges that are in a dilapidated condition during the upcoming 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which will start from August 22.

The BMC has also urged Ganesh mandals in prominent areas of Mumbai to follow the concept of ‘one ward-one Ganpati’ during this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in view of the coronavirus outbreak.(Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

The civic body had urged devotees in its August 15 advisory not to wait on these bridges for a prolonged duration, avoid dancing on these structures and ensure fewer people participate in the immersion processions.

Officials said the advisory was issued taking note of the deteriorating structural stability of these bridges — Ghatkopar rail overbridge (ROB), Curry Road bridge, Chinchpokli bridge, Marine Line bridge, Sandhurst Road bridge, and Dadar Tilak bridge, important for east to west connectivity over the years.

The civic body and the police have also appealed to people to not travel in herds during the festival in a bid to avoid accidents which might cause due to the condition of the bridges. The civic officials said the load on Currey Road and Chinchpokli bridges should not exceed 16 tonnes due to their dilapidated condition.

Last year, the civic body had issued an advisory for 20 bridges that were found dilapidated in a structural audit, prompted after the Himalayan bridge collapse at CSMT.

The BMC has also urged Ganesh mandals in prominent areas of Mumbai to follow the concept of ‘one ward-one Ganpati’ during this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in view of the coronavirus outbreak. Vishwas Mote, the assistant municipal commissioner of K-West ward which covers Andheri, Juhu, Versova and other such areas, made the appeal through a letter to the mandals.