Protestors stall Elphinstone bridge closure; govt to meet on Monday

MUMBAI: At around 8pm on Friday, four hours before personnel from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) would set about closing the 125-year-old Elphinstone bridge to embark on the first phase of demolition, residents of 19 buildings flanking the flyover, turned up in full force protesting its closure. Following an over four-hour stand-off between MMRDA officials and the protestors, a little after midnight, the government’s plan of demolition was suspended.

This was confirmed by Kalidas Kolambkar, MLA of Wadala constituency. He said: “The CM’s office has instructed to stop the work till Monday, when a meeting will be held following which the final decision will be taken. The demolition plan is on hold for now.”

Sriram Pawar, a member of Parel residents Association said: “We will put forth our demands in the meeting on Monday, hoping they will listen to us.”

MMRDA planned to close the flyover to make way for the new Worli-Sewri connector. Earlier this week, the traffic police had provided alternate routes for travellers who use the bridge – their options being to divert to the Tilak bridge in Dadar as well as the Chinchpokli bridge to cross over the railway tracks in either direction.

Earlier on Friday, the crowd on the flyover swelled by 9pm, as MMRDA officials closed one lane of the bridge and set about demolishing the divider. The officials had just about broken down a few meters of the divider when the protestors compelled them to suspend work by climbing on JCB which was brought on site.

While the bridge will be demolished over three months, in the first phase residents of Haji Noorani and Laxmi Niwas CHS, close to the flyover, will be affected. They said in unison that while their homes will be demolished – and a notice to that effect has been pasted on their buildings – they have no definite communication about their alternate accommodation. “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) only stuck a notice about the demolition, but we have no idea about where we will have to go,” said Komal Parab, a resident of Haaji Noorani, building located at the west end of Elphinstone bridge.

Residents of both buildings have demanded that they be housed in the same locality as they have resided here for generations, and also have businesses around the locality. “They are giving us options to relocate to Grant Road near Delhi Darbar, which is unsafe; the other option is Kurla, which is far,” said Parab.

Another resident, Rabiya Thakur said, “As an alternate, they offered us between ₹20 lakh to ₹40 lakh, in lieu of our homes, when the market value of houses in this area run into crores.”

Other protestors expressed that closing this crucial south Mumbai east-west will hamper their movement, especially since they feel “no viable alternative has been given” to them. “Both the bridges – Chinchpokli and Tilak -- are not suitable options for us. The Tilak bridge is still under construction and every year the BMC tells us to avoid overcrowding at the Currey Road bridge,” said Pawar.

Many parents who were part of the protest expressed concern about the additional travel time to schools and hospitals, the bridge’s closure will bring. “Most of our children either travel to schools to Parel East or Dadar. It takes us barely 10 minutes to reach the school now. Going forward it will take us least an hour,” said Pallavi Padiyar, another resident. The patients in and around the west also travel to the east as major hospitals – KEM, Tata Memorial hospital, Wadia – are located here.

Vikas Sharma, a resident of Vashi, who joined the protestors as he uses this route regularly, said, “I have been taking this bridge for the past 10 years. Shutting this will add at least two hours to my commute considering the impending traffic snarls which is inevitable due to the diversions.”

Prakash Sonawane, deputy community development officer of MMRDA, who was present at the site, had earlier assured the protestors saying, “We will accommodate the demands of residents of the two buildings and offer them compensation.” The residents were not easily placated and demanded that the government embark on cluster development – a demand made by them earlier.

Mumbai traffic department’s DCP Samadhan Pawar said, “Our complete mechanism is in place if MMRDA decides to shut the bridge. We have already planned the diversions after taking suggestions from the public. We have also planned to deploy extra manpower to avoid any traffic congestion.”

He added that earlier in the day, senior officials from the traffic department as well as the joint commissioner visited the spot.

(With inputs from Vinay Dalvi)