Tiles pop out again, within days after BMC fixed the foot overbridge in wake of mid-day report, civic body says contractor told to replace them with granite slabs after monsoon
The damaged surface of the recently constructed foot overbridge at Marine Lines, on Tuesday
The surface of the newly constructed foot overbridge (FOB) at Marine Lines is in a shambles again. Two weeks ago, in the wake of a report by mid-day dated July 9, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) refitted tiles that had come out after the arrival of the monsoon. Tiles had also come undone just two months after the bridge was inaugurated last year. Now, the BMC has asked the contractor to replace all tiles with granite slabs at no extra cost, as the bridge is under the defect liability period.
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The BMC reconstructed two FOBs, one at the north end and the other connecting Chandanwadi crematorium on the east side of Marine Lines railway station. The bridges were declared dilapidated in an audit report conducted after the collapse of the Himalaya FOB at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. The construction of bridges was delayed and they were open to the public in June 2022. However, tiles on the span and staircases started cracking and popping up. mid-day highlighted the matter in August 2022 after which civic officials asked the contractor to repair it. But even after repairing the tiles did not remain intact.
An official from the bridges department of the BMC told mid-day on Tuesday, “We will attend to the issue on a priority basis. Besides, we have asked the contractor to replace the tiles with granite at no extra cost. The work will start after the rainy season.” The official added that these types of tiles are good on bridges with roofs, but do not work on such FOBs as they lack coverings. “So, like the Himalaya bridge or the new Dockyard FOB, we have decided to fix granite tiles here,” he said.
In June 2019, the BMC awarded the contract to reconstruct the two FOBs to M/s SVJ Inovabuild Pvt Ltd at R4.35 crore, which was 33 per cent more than the estimated cost of R3.27 crore. While the structures were to be ready in 18 months, excluding the monsoon season, the contractor finished it on May 31, 2022. Thousands of passengers use the FOBs to cross the busy road outside Marine Lines station. The crematorium lane connects with commercial areas like Dawa Bazar, Bhuleshwar and Kalbadevi.
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