Plans to demolish Mumbai’s 125-year-old colonial Elphinstone Bridge were abruptly halted late Friday night due to strong opposition from local residents, disrupting the scheduled work of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
At around 8 pm, an hour before the bridge was to be formally closed for demolition, a crowd of residents from neighbouring buildings protested, calling for transparency in their relocation and complaining about the disruption the project would bring to the area. The protest, which lasted more than four hours, compelled authorities to suspend the operations after midnight.
Local MLA Kalidas Kolambkar confirmed the development, stating, “The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has requested to suspend the demolition until Monday. There will be a meeting then, after which a final decision will be made.”
Elphinstone Bridge linking east and west Mumbai near Parel was to be demolished in phases to pave the way for the coming Worli-Sewri connector. The closure of the bridge was to affect residents of two buildings, Haji Noorani and Laxmi Niwas, who live just alongside the bridge.
Notifications had already been given to inform them of partial demolition, but residents claim that there has been no official word on where they would be relocated.
“We have lived here for generations and commute nearby for work, school, etc. They plan to relocate us to the suburbs, where we are not accustomed to living. If we are shifted far away, our lives will be totally disrupted,” a resident said during the protest.
Apart from the housing problem, most protesters complained of losing a crucial east-west connection in central Mumbai, contending that suggested alternative roads, such as Tilak Bridge in Dadar and Chinchpokli Bridge, are not convenient and will increase traffic congestion.
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While MMRDA was set to proceed with the closure, the traffic department had already mapped diversion plans and was set to handle added pressure on alternate routes. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Samadhan Pawar stated, “We have everything in place to handle the diversions after the demolition and revamp begins. Additional staff also will be deployed to ease traffic flow in the area.”
According to MMRDA, the Elphinstone Bridge demolition will take approximately three months to complete once the process starts. While it will remain open for public use for another two days, officials are expected to arrive at a concrete solution during the Monday meeting.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd