Milind Deora demanded a case of murder be lodged against the BMC officials responsible for negligence
Milind Deora. Pic./mid-day archive
Former Union Minister Milind Deora on Thursday said it was absolutely unacceptable that the bridge collapsed just six months after a structural audit and demanded a case of murder be lodged against the BMC officials responsible for negligence as five persons were killed and another 30 injured, including some critically, when a portion of an overhead pedestrian bridge outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus came crashing down on Thursday evening.
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Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan also demanded stringent action against the officials responsible for negligent administration which cost five human lives.
The incident - the third footbridge collapse in the city in the last 18 months - occurred around 7.35 p.m. as the bridge was reportedly overloaded with commuters hurrying to their homes, the BMC Disaster Control said.
After the two previous tragedies, the BMC, the Railways and other agencies had carried out a survey of all new and old railway bridges, flyovers, and foot over bridges, to ascertain any dangers and take preventive measures. Officials claimed that the bridge was found to be sturdy after a recent structural audit and only needed a few minor repairs.
Connecting the CSMT's suburban platform No. 1 with the B.T. Lane near The Times of India Building and the Anjuman-e-Islam School, it was used by thousands of daily commuters rushing to catch the local trains on Central Railway and the Harbour Line.
The victims included three women - Apoorva Prabhu, 35, Ranjana Tambe, 40, and Bhakti Shinde, 40. The two men killed were identified as Zahid Siraj Khan, 32 and Tapendra Singh, 35. The injured have been rushed to the St. George Hospital and G. T. Hospital, besides Sion Hospital, said officials.
Politicians from several parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena, the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and others rushed to the site and activists helped in the rescue operations.
A foot overbridge at the Elphinstone Road railway station had crashed on September 29, 2017, killing 29 commuters, while on July 3, 2018 when a portion of the foot overbridge crashed on the railway tracks near Andheri station, killing at least one and injuring many more.
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