Mumbai: Iconic Elphinstone bridge razed overnight, commuters stranded

Mumbais iconic Elphinstone bridge long at the centre of debate and protests is now history after overnight demolition works In just a few hours the structure was rendered unusable cutting off both vehicular and pedestrian accessThe demolition originally scheduled for midnight Friday was advanced by two hours and began around 10 pm By morning the oncebusy connector had been reduced to rubble leaving residents and commuters strandedSenior Inspector Kanhaiyalal Shinde of Dadar Traffic Police confirmed the closure ldquoPedestrians can use service roads on either side Our aim was to completely halt vehicular traffic so we carried out the work at nightrdquo he saidTwo JCB excavators being used to dismantle the iconic bridge PicAshish RajeThree JCB machines worked through the night to dismantle the bridge while traffic police local police and Maharashtra Security Force MSF personnel were deployed to prevent lawandorder issuesFor locals the sudden pace of demolition was a shock Despite weeks of emails meetings and protests residents had hoped authorities would delay the closure until an alternative was ready ldquoWe kept pleading we kept protesting but the bridge was torn down before our eyesrdquo said a residentThe closure is expected to disrupt thousands of daily commuters The bridge was a crucial connector between Dadar Elphinstone and nearby areas With diversions already in place residents fear longterm chaos until a replacement is builtWhat stings most many said was the abruptness Officials had claimed discussions were ongoing yet demolition squads moved in overnight and finished the jobWith Deputy CM Eknath Shinde approving the proposal to rehabilitate residents of 83 rooms from Haaji Noorani and Lakshmi Nivas on Thursday night occupants of 17 other nearby buildings mdash also at risk from the demolition of the Elphinstone bridge mdash are now anxious about their futureldquoOn Thursday officials told us that instead of shifting us temporarily to MHADA transit houses they will give us new homes in nearby areas with 35 per cent larger carpet area than our current homes But why should we leave this prime location and the houses built by our ancestors We have full rights over this land and we must be given redeveloped houses here itselfrdquo said Munaf Thakur secretary of Haaji Noorani buildingFor residents of the remaining 17 buildings uncertainty looms large ldquoAre these officials uneducated Donrsquot they understand collateral damage If they start drilling the bridge for demolition wonrsquot the shockwaves from heavy machinery hit our buildings too Some of the buildings are over 125 years old Can they withstand such pressurerdquo asked 72yearold Dilip Kambli of Veera BuildingNaresh Yadav 64 of Divera House added ldquoDevelopers avoid us because of the railway line nearby Our buildings are more than 100 years old yet we are not even allowed to carry out repairs MHADA served dangerousbuilding notices to Haaji Noorani and Lakshmi Nivas but conveniently skipped our homes Are our buildings magically safe As per the plan the upper deck of the new bridge will be four lanes but the lower will remain two lanes It wonrsquot solve traffic issues for locals mdash itrsquoll only benefit the rich using the MTHL sealink and this bridge Bottlenecks at both ends will remainrdquoRamesh Vaikul 77 of Paawala Building questioned the cost logic ldquoMMRDA claims it saved Rs 5200 crore by dropping us from the rehabilitation plan But they had to increase their project cost anyway when they changed the design Who are they foolingrdquoResidents also alleged harassment by authorities ldquoOfficials donrsquot agree with each other and even the CMrsquos words are ignored We know the city needs infrastructure but should it come at the cost of hundreds of livesrdquo said Shabana Shaikh of Vaani HouseVOICESDilip Kambli resident Veera BuildinglsquoAre these officials uneducated Donrsquot they understand collateral damage If they start drilling the bridge for demolition wonrsquot the shockwaves from heavy machinery hit our buildings too Some of the buildings are over 125 years old Can they withstand such pressurersquoShabana Shaikh resident Vaani HouselsquoOfficials donrsquot agree with each other and even the CMrsquos words are ignored We know the city needs infrastructure but should it come at the cost of hundreds of livesrsquoNaresh Yadav resident Divera HouselsquoDevelopers avoid us because of the railway line nearby Our buildings are more than 100 years old yet we are not even allowed to carry out repairs MHADA served dangerousbuilding notices to Haaji Noorani and Lakshmi Nivas but conveniently skipped our homesrsquoRamesh Vaikul resident Paawala BuildinglsquoMMRDA claims it saved Rs 5200 crore by dropping us from the rehabilitation plan But they had to increase their project cost anyway when they changed the design Who are they foolingrsquo