Andheri’s Gokhale bridge closure: Online petition by local residents garners support; urges Indian Army to help build the bridge

Gokhale bridge was shut on Sunday night. File Pic/Sameer Markande

An online petition by Andheri locals is gaining momentum as Gokhale Road bridge was shut down on November 7.

Speaking to mid-day.com, Dhaval Shah, a petitioner and co-founder of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen's Association (LOCA) said, "Gokhale bridge is important for residents of Andheri and Vile Parle. Fellow residents of Andheri, Vile Parle, etc. are urging the government to request speedy construction of the bridge and if possible to handover the construction of the bridge to the Indian Army so that it will be rebuilt in time and the bridge would be much stronger with quality work. We saw it when the Elphinstone railway bridge was built by the Army."

After the deadly stampede at Elphinstone Road station railway bridge in 2017, the India Army was was roped in for construction after 23 commuters were killed on September 29, 2017. The FOB at was built by Indian Army in a record 117 days.

He added, "We have already got over 8,000 signatures and once we complete 10,000 signatures, we will submit the petition to Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. We expect to get positive feedback from his office."

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Meanwhile, BJP MLA Ameet Satam on Friday wrote a letter to Railway Minister Ashnavi Vaishnav and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to expedite the demolition and the reconstruction of the closed bridge.

He requested the demolition and reconstruction work be handed over to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), which is known for reconstructing a bridge in Valsad in 20 days.

He wrote, after the BMC closed the bridge for traffic, there is a huge traffic congestion from Khar West and East, right up to Malad West and East, thus causing inconvenience to lakhs of commuters.

The BMC is of the view that the bridge in the railway portion should be brought down and reconstructed by the railway, considering high-tension wires and live railway lines in operation.