Mumbai’s footbridge that collapsed had cleared safety audit. Probe ordered

The foot overbridge that collapsed in Mumbai on Thursday evening killing five people was cleared during a structural audit, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has said.

The foot overbridge is located near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, one of India’s busiest railway stations. Fadnavis said he was told by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner that the bridge was constructed in 1980.

“Structural audit of overbridges was ordered last year. The (BMC) commissioner told me that it was found to be fit during the audit. If the bridge collapses despite clearance, it raises questions on the audit,” Devendra Fadnavis said ordering a probe into the incident.

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He said that if there was negligence of any sort that the culpable should be punished. The CM said he was informed about minor repairs being carries out in the foot overbridge. “Need to know the extent of those repairs,” Fadnavis said.

Congress leader Milind Deora had also raised questions on the safety audit that was carried out six months ago. He said an FIR should be filed under IPC Section 302 (murder) should be filed againt BMC officers responsible for the negligence.

“After the Elphinstone tragedy, the footover bridge outside CSMT has collapsed despite being structurally audited just six months ago,” Milind Deora tweeted.

State minister Vinod Tawde, however, said the bridge wasn’t in a bad condition. “It required minor repairs for which work was underway. Why was it not closed until the work was completed, will be probed,” Tawde was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

A structural audit of 296 bridges in the Mumbai was conducted by the BMC last year. During the audit, it was found that 18 bridges would have to be demolished and rebuilt. The list included 10 major bridges and eight foot over-bridges, some belonging to the British era.