27 June,2019 07:01 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
The board contains the ownership, inspection and contact details
The blame game over the accountability followed by foot overbridge-related accidents is likely to end as the railways has begun putting up boards with information about the ownership and inspection dates of the FOBs.
A board mention not only the department that own the respective FOB and last inspection held and inspection due dates, but also a contact number that will help commuters in case of an emergency.
"The exercise is to bring in transparency and restore public confidence about foot overbridges. The railways have hundreds of bridges and such an exercise will also help commuters to know who is responsible for the maintenance and whom to call if they find a problem with the bridge," a senior official said.
The incomplete board on Thakurli FOB
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However, commuters at a few stations like Thakurli have complained that the boards do not contain complete relevant details. The railway officials said the process began just last week and the details on all FOB boards will be updated within a month.
The officials added that the boards are not just restricted to Mumbai division, but across Central Railway zone, including in Pune division. The move comes after a spate of FOB collapses in city led to bickering between the railways and BMC officials due to lack of clarity on the accountability. An audit of railway bridges by IIT-Bombay found several in distressed condition.
Also read: Central Railway meets passengers for solution to delays
A total of 178 bridges were audited and the IIT-B team found that 32 structures needed immediate attention. The Western Railway officials claimed that IIT-B recommended major repairs of 10 of the 29 road overbridges, nine of the 117 FOBs and demolition of Delisle bridge at Lower Parel and eight others.
Also read: Five years on, Western Railway finally gets BMC nod for Jogeshwari escalators
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