Two weeks ago, a part of Andheri’s Gokhale bridge collapsed injuring five people and one of the injured succumbed to injuries and breathed her last. Playing the blame-game, Railways and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) kept pointing fingers at each other in an attempt to shift the blame on the other. However, an inquiry report stated that both BMC and Railways are responsible for the unfortunate incident.
After the incident, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had personally visited the incident site, ordering an investigation and had appointed the Western Regional Chief Security Commissioner to take charge and prepare the inquiry report. In response, the investigation was conducted and the primary report of the inquiry was presented by the officer on Wednesday which blamed and considered both the institutions equally responsible for the accident.
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The report stated that the iron rods below the bridge were soaked in water and had subsequently rusted. However, before the incident, BMC had conducted repair work on the bridge which included digging, installing cables, paver blocks, and sand. Due to this, the rod that was already weak couldn’t bear the weight and this resulted in collapse. But the civic body had conducted all the work without Railway’s permission and Railways too did not pay attention and remained passive towards the matter.
After the incident, the bridge was closed for the commuters and the traffic was being diverted in order to conduct the investigation.
Along with this, several other bridges in Mumbai are also at the risk of collapsing. While addressing the media, Piyush Goyal also mentioned that BMC and Railways have now collaborated with IIT Bombay for a safety audit, where the bridges in Mumbai Suburbs will be investigated and action will be taken regarding the same, to repair the ones in need.
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