Mumbai: Now, it's bad news for motorists in Malad

Vehicles on the old bridge on SV Road near Malad station. The new connectors are useless because of the shops. Pic/Nimesh Dave

As it faces public wrath for poor planning over the closure of Andheri's Gokhale bridge, the BMC is now staring at a similar crisis in Malad. The corporation declared a bridge on SV Road dilapidated in 2019 and built a lane on either side, but cannot open them as many shops sit on their alignment. It has now sent notices to the shops with a three-day ultimatum.

The BMC has now sent notices to the shops seeking their response. While shopkeepers are reluctant to move to alternative locations and unhappy over the compensation offered, civic officials said negotiations are on. Swami Vivekananda Road or S V Road is a key road that connects all the railway stations on the western line. A 10-metre-wide nullah runs close to the Malad subway and then under SV Road right in front of the Bata showroom near Sainath Road. While the width of SV Road is about 90 feet, it becomes 45 feet on the bridge above the nullah.

Months after the collapse of Himalaya foot overbridge at CST, the civic body completed the tendering for the reconstruction of the Malad bridge. "The construction couldn't be started as there were shops on the bridge itself which refused to move amid the Covid pandemic. Even the traffic police didn't allow us to close the road so we strengthened the bridge for the time being. After the ward office [P-North] shifted the shops on the bridge we started construction in December 2021," said an engineer from the BMC's bridges department.

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The BMC is struggling to get the shops on the right, near a nullah in Malad, removed. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The BMC constructed a lane - access road - on either side of the existing bridge. As per its plan, the new structures were to be opened for traffic before demolishing the old bridge. But then arose a new challenge. "We have completed the construction of the access roads from both sides of the bridge. It will also solve the issue of the bottleneck. But there are structures which need to be cleared before opening it. The ward office has to clear it. We can start demolition and reconstruction only after it," said an engineer from the bridges department.

BMC held meeting in Oct

BMC officials met the shop owners last month to find a solution. "There are 16 shops on the right side of the road [towards Dahisar] which need to be demolished. The shops on the opposite sides will be cut by around 6 to 7 feet. The BMC had to start the process at the time of approval of the bridge, but it has woken up now. They told us verbally last month and directly sent us a letter on November 5 with the ultimatum to reply within three days. How is it possible to make a decision about our shops which we have run for years?" said Bharat Patel, one of the shop owners.

Another shop owner, Laxmichand Satra, said, "We are ready to shift but the BMC is offering only 75 per cent of the ready reckoner rate. Otherwise, they asked us to shift to Kandivli, Dahisar, Kurla or Byculla. They offered us shops on the first floor at Borivli shopping centre. How can we shift our shops to such locations? There are 3 to 4 workers in each shop."

‘Trying to resolve matter'

"We are negotiating with the shopkeepers. There are 16 shops, and we are ready to compensate them as per the BMC's policy. They can either shift to commercial spaces available at markets with us or accept monetary compensation. They need to choose one of them. The shops on the opposite side of the road can construct one plus one structures," said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of P-North ward, which covers Malad. He added that the shops will be cleared in a week or two as they need to be given a seven-day notice to vacate the place.

"We will need 10 to 12 days to construct an asphalt road at the shop area which will connect to the bridge. We can close the traffic on the old bridge thereafter," said an engineer. Shahid Khan, a commuter, said, "The traffic on this stretch is always chaotic and I generally try to avoid the road in peak hours. The closure of the road will be a nightmare. Why does the BMC wait for the dilapidated status? Why shouldn't it act before it is too late?"

2019
Year the bridge was declared dilapidated