The bridge is one of two that are being built alongside the upcoming Hancock bridge over the railway tracks
Workers on the job at the pedestrian bridge near Sandhurst Road station. Pic/Ashish Raje
In what will bring some relief to locals, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has almost completed work on a pedestrian bridge, alongside the upcoming new motorable Hancock bridge that is being build between Sandhurst Road and Byculla stations. It will be opened for use in the next 10 days. The new Hancock bridge is also expected to be completed by May 2021.
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Locals are happy with the pedestrian bridge and claimed it will save them at least an hour's commute. A few people had also died while crossing railway tracks after the old Hancock bridge was demolished in January 2016.
A 13-year-old boy, Gaurav Prakash Vora, had died on February 16, 2016, while crossing the railway tracks. His father Prakash said, "My son was studying at St Peter School in Mazgaon. That day he took a short cut to come home by crossing the railway track. A speeding train crushed him. This pedestrian bridge will save many lives."
Locals delighted
Speaking to mid-day, a 50-year-old resident of Noorbaug, Shabbir Rampurawala said, "I have a stationery shop at Mazgaon and from my home it is hardly a 5-10 minutes walk. But for past 4 years I have been taking a taxi or bus which takes 40-50 minutes for 3.5 kilometres. Today I learnt about this pedestrian bridge and rushed to see it. It will save my time and money."
A 49-year-old resident of Mazgaon with a store near Hancock bridge, Sharayu Babar said, "Since the bridge was demolished, I have been suffering losses. My customers are not able to come to my masala shop. I am happy as people will come again to my shop."
Kamalbai Danaji Kadam, 50, who stays at Masjid Bunder had to walk nearly one and half hour every day to go to work at a shop. She said, "Earlier it took only 15-20 minutes to walk. Now this bridge will save my time and energy."
'A relief'
A 19-year-old student, Tejas Shinde, of Mazgaon said, "My college is hardly 10 minutes from Hancock bridge but after it was demolished it took me 30-40 minutes by vehicle. It's a relief for me and my friends."
A group of friends aged between 14-18 years including Amit Waghela, Jigesh Sakrecha, Arjun Vansh, Ravi Waghela and Jigesh Rajput studying in Fazlani school at Walpakhadi, told mid-day they too will reach it in less time. "We used to go to school by road which takes more than 45-50 minutes. Now we will only take 2 minutes to go to school," said Amit Waghela.
Property dealer Gautam Makwana, 42, and his 2-year-old child had also come to see the bridge on Tuesday. Makwana told mid-day, "I have been spending R45 on taxis every day each way to reach Dongri from Mazgaon and it takes more than 30 minutes. If I take this bridge the distance is barely 200 mtrs. I am happy that within next 10 days we will use this bridge."
Also Read: Mumbai: For motorists, taking Hancock bridge is still a distant dream
BMC speak
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Chief Engineer Rajan Talkar said, "The new Hancock Bridge will have pedestrian bridges on both its sides. The West side pedestrian bridge is almost complete and will be opened to the public in the next 10 days. The entire bridge will be ready by May 2021. The permission for cutting trees and for some other resident building works are still pending. But our main focus is to complete this bridge work."
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