Mumbai: CM Eknath Shinde assures Gokhale Road bridge will open by October

The CM was told that delay in steel supply was holding up fabrication work on the Gokhale bridge. File pic/Anurag Ahire

Residents of Andheri have been demanding early opening of the new Gokhale bridge which connects the East to the West. The bridge was closed in the first week of November after which it was demolished by the railways. However, despite promises by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to open at least two lanes of the bridge by May, the fabrication work is yet to begin.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the spot on Friday to take stock of the situation. "There is an issue of steel supply for fabrication of the bridge, so I called upon the officer of Jindal Group to provide it as soon as possible. The BMC has said they will complete work of the bridge by October," he said. The BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal has assured that the work will continue even during the rains and be complete by October.

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CM Eknath Shinde and civic chief during the checks on nullah cleaning work done in the city on Friday

Meanwhile, Andheri local corporator Abhijeet Satam requested Shinde to allow pedestrians to use the Western Railway FOB as there are a large number of people facing an inconvenience. Shinde then called the Western Railway divisional railway manager and instructed him to open the FOB for the general public till the opening of the Gokhale bridge.

Sources said the total requirement of steel for the railway portion of the bridge is 2,600 metric tonnes (MT), of which 750 MT has been received. MLA Amit Satam said work on second lane will start in November and be completed by May 2024.

2,600mt
Total steel requirement for railway portion

BMC to start helpline for nullah work

The CM visited Milan Subway, Oshiwara and Dahisar rivers and said BMC will issue a helpline by Monday where people can register complaints regarding unclean nullahs and the BMC will ensure they are cleaned between June 1 and June 10. He also asked BMC officials to start another helpline number to register complaints for spots with garbage. He also asked for a show cause notice to be issued to officials responsible for the nullah near Milan Subway as it was left dirty. "The sub-engineer of H-West ward is responsible for it. We will issue a show cause notice to him," said a senior official.