Rickety Kurla Bridge finally sees MHADA commence repairs

Relieved residents say they are willing to cooperate to make work get done faster

After tolerating false assurances of starting repairs on the wobbly bridge at the Kurla nullah near the Anik Nagar bus depot, which poses a danger to 400 children and many others, residents of the area were relieved to see work finally beginning on Saturday.


Workers were spotted repairing the bridge,
which was threatening the lives of 400 school kids

After being goaded by a MiD DAY report on the issue ('Is BMC waiting for kids to die,' July 29), BMC Ward Officer (L ward) Ranjeet Dhakne had visited the site and inspected the area and passed over the repair work to MHADA, which had built the bridge 10 years ago.
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However, after several more inspections and visits to the site, no work had begun on the perilous bridge.

But, on Saturday, MHADA began repairs on the bridge after receiving the no objection certificate from the BMC. Vijay Salgaonkar, the contractor for the bridge, said, "The repair will take at least 15 days to be completed."

He added, "Some youth from the area have come forward to help with the work. I have four to six workers doing the dismantling and new workers will come to do the other railing work soon."

The expense of the work is being borne by MLA Chandrakant Handore from his MLA fund.

Vikrant Nandu (21), one of the youngsters from the area helping the workers to dismantle the bridge, said, "Small kids and their parents are forced to use the pipes on their way to school as they do not want to take the long route. If we help, the work will get done faster."