BMC razes down controversial stall holding up Vikhroli bridge work

The zhunka bhakar stall was torn down on Friday

A day after mid-day reported about a controversial zhunka bhakar stall holding up the construction of a bridge in Vikhroli, the local ward office and bridges department acted swiftly on Friday to demolish it. With the stall gone, work can finally restart on building the road over-bridge, which will provide the much-needed east-west connectivity.

The front-page report, 'Illegal stall holds up work on vital bridge in Vikhroli,' on April 4 highlighted how BMC took note of the illegal stall a year after locals pointed out how it was posing a problem to the construction of the bridge.

BMC demolished the stall a year after locals pointed out how it was posing a problem to the construction of the bridge

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Mario Rodrigues, chairperson of the Vikhroli unit of the Bombay Catholic Sabha, said, "A team of BMC officials came down on Friday morning and demolished the controversial stall. We had been complaining about the slow pace of the work on the bridge because of the stall and we're happy that work will proceed now." He also thanked mid-day for the support.

Rodrigues, who had also written to the bridges department, hopes the work on the bridge gets completed in a time-bound manner now. Robert D'souza, another resident, said that there have been unnecessary delays in building the simple road over bridge due to bureaucratic red tape, "It is high time some sense of accountability is reflected upon by public organisations and those who take up such big projects."

Earlier, BMC's bridges department had cited inaction by local ward office as the reason for the delay in moving the stall. BMC officials said they will now clear the debris, and start work on the other foundations of the bridge. Locals have faced a lot of inconvenience due to the inaction as the area near the railway station has become a complete mess with auto rickshaws and hawkers blocking access to the station. The bridge, being built at a cost of R6 crore, is expected to improve the traffic situation and offer better east-west connectivity. Currently, Vikhroli residents have to take a detour to Ghatkopar of Kanjurmarg to travel either way.

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