After the Himalaya foot overbridge (FOB) collapsed on March 14 outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), the blame-game between the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Railway authorities was started off over accountability of the collapsed FOB.
However, the ruckus stopped after Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant admitted that the civic body is accountable for the Himalaya foot overbridge. With six people killed and 36 left injured, there is outrage among the people living in Mumbai.
Was the collapsing of the FOB a coincidence? The findings in the initial investigation report suggest otherwise - a high level of negligence on the part of the concerned authority.
Earlier in 2016, BMC appointed DD Desai Associates Engineering Consultant for carrying out the structural audit of the bridges. In their inquiry report, the appointed consultant company mentioned that the year of construction of the FOB was 1998 while the Himalaya FOB was actually constructed between 1984-1986.
The report mentioned the FOB to be in good condition. After the sudden collapse of the Himalaya FOB outside CSMT, the question arises that on what basis was this claimed in the report? BMC had paid ₹2 crore to the consultant company for carrying out the structural audit.
Between 2012 and 2014, the company which was given the contract carried out structural repairs, installing the steel sheets on the already installed steel floor. This led to an increase in the weight of the floor to 1,400 kg. It can be seen as a major reason for the collapse of the FOB.
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Initial investigation reports also raise doubts on the engineers who were supposed to monitor the work during the repair and structural audit of the FOB.
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