45 lights go bust on Goregaon flyover, but no replacements yet

No lights on a 250-metre stretch of the Mrinal Gore flyover

Even six months after its inauguration, the four-lane Mrinal Gore flyover in Goregaon continues to be plagued by trouble. And, the authorities seem to be waiting for an accident to happen before they act. After stolen manhole covers, the lights on the bridge have been off for a week now, making the stretch extremely dangerous at night. Around 250 metres of the ROB are in complete darkness.

On Tuesday night, mid-day found that more than 45 street lamps on either side of the bridge were non-functional, greatly increasing the chances of an accident. Commuters using the ROB have said that the non-operational streetlights should be repaired at the earliest before an accident happens.

Hiren Patel, a Lokhandwala resident and who uses the bridge regularly, said, "It's been not even six months that the bridge was opened and now the street lamps on the important landing stretch of the ROB are not working. It's a serious thing because it becomes difficult for a motorist to drive in pitch darkness.

The 2.3-km, Rs 235-crore flyover at Oshiwara was opened to the public earlier this year in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray.

An open manhole

Soon after the opening of the ROB, it was found that the road surface was uneven at a few places making it difficult for motorists. At a few places, the road surface was too slippery and during the rainy season bike started to skid dangerously on it. A couple of months ago, a man lost his life after the rickshaw in which he was traveling allegedly skidded over the smooth surface and turned turtle on the ROB.

Despite repeated attempts over the past three days, BMC Chief Engineer (Bridges) S O Kori remained unavailable for comment.