In a major relief for people travelling to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), the Railways has submitted an undertaking to the Bombay high court (HC), stating that it will finish work and open the new foot overbridge (FoB) at Bandra station, connecting to the skywalk, by December 31. However, the arm of the skywalk, linking Bandra station to BKC, which was shut in July, will remain closed till November 15 as the civic body has sought time to complete its structural audit.
A division bench of chief justice Pradeep Nandrajog and justice Bharati Dangre was hearing an application by KPP Nair, seeking restoration of his public interest litigation (PIL), which was disposed of earlier this year after the Railways had submitted an undertaking that the new FoB would be completed within July. In his PIL, Nair had sought directions to the Railways to finish work on the new FoB, which will connect to the skywalk leading to BKC. However, the new FoB was not completed in the promised time and the skywalk was also shut.
On Friday, senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond appearing for Nair told the court that office-goers of BKC were being inconvenienced owing to the closure of the skywalk. He said both the Railways and the civic body were doing nothing to expedite the completion of the new FoB and the re-opening of the skywalk. Dhond also stressed on the fact that the existing FoB on the east of the station was in a “perilous condition and could collapse if alternate arrangements were not made”.
The counsel for the civic body told the HC that the structural audit of the skywalk, being conducted by Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), would be completed by November 15, after which they will take a call on whether or not it should be opened for public use. The Railways submitted an affidavit stating that the new FoB from platform number 6 and 7 would be completed by December 31.
The bench accepted both the undertakings and posted the matter January 2020.
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