No lessons learnt after Mumbra bypass cave-in, allege residents

Three days after repair work began on a caved-in portion of the Mumbra bypass, traffic has gone back to normal. However, commuters said they are unhappy with the

Three days after repair work began on a caved-in portion of the Mumbra bypass, traffic has gone back to normal. However, commuters said they are unhappy with the quality of the construction.

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Officials from the public works department (PWD) have now assured citizens that they will consult experts from IIT-B and conduct a structural audit of the bypass.

After a portion of the two-lane bypass caved in on Sunday, the Thane Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) barricaded the area and started repair work the next day. The cave-in took place towards the Kalyan side, around 200 metres from Retibunder in Mumbra.

Latik Mukadam, 45, from Mumbra, said, “The repair of the caved-in patch is not satisfactory as the whole concrete slab of the bypass has turned weak, and can lead to similar potholes or cave-ins in future. Officials have carried out repair work, but this will only last for a short time.”

Citizen activist, Arif Iraqi, 44, wrote to the Union Minister for roads in October 2018, complaining about the quality of the road.

“The ministry replied to my letter in February 2019, directing the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to take necessary action. However, so far, no action or inquiry has been initiated by the department,” said Iraqi.

Sameer Pathan, 40, from Kausa, Mumbra, said, “Last year, the repair work which was scheduled for two months has stretched for around four months. In spite of that, a single spell of rain can wash away the concrete.”

“The repair work was done after a structural audit by the department of civil engineering of IIT-B. In their report, they said the pathetic condition of the road has been caused by substandard materials, poor workmanship and problem with execution,” said Iraqi. “Following the audit report, PWD started repair work in 2018 and spent around ₹ 8 crore.”

According to RTI information accessed by Iraqi, from 2014 to 2018, a total of 98 accidents took place on the Mumbra bypass stretch. Of these, 78 resulted in deaths.After reopening of the bypass in September 2018, more than 12 deaths have been recorded on bypass.

The Mumbra bypass sees continuous plying of heavy vehicles daily. “During the repair last year, six of the 23 concrete slabs were changed. We couldn’t replace all the slabs, and so potholes developed on the old concrete slabs,” said an official from the PWD. “After the cave-in last week, we decided to consult IIT-B and conduct a structural audit within two weeks.”

The Mumbra-bypass was constructed eight years ago to restrict heavy vehicles from entering Mumbra.

However, within a couple of days of its construction, the road developed cracks and potholes. In monsoon, the area also sees multiple landslides on the road. More than 50,000 heavy vehicles, including trucks, trailers and containers, ply in the road towards Bhiwandi, Taloja, Panvel, and JNPT. Vehicles going towards Delhi, Agra, Ahmedabad, and Chennai also use this bypass. The road comes under the Public Works Department of the state.

The construction of the 7km Mumbra bypass began in 2000 and was completed only in 2007. The construction work cost ₹58 crore. Since 2007, it has undergone multiple repairs, costing a total of around ₹20 crore.