Elphinstone bridge row: Activists and motorists ask for post-monsoon closure of connector

Local residents meet with Suburban Guardian Minister Ashish Shelar (extreme left, seated in white) to resolve their issues

The Elphinstone bridge will remain open today morning as usual, as motorists and activists are now pushing for the bridge to be closed after the monsoon to avoid inconvenience.

A day before meeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to resolve the issue of their relocation, residents along the Elphinstone bridge on Saturday night followed up on the issue with BJP leader and Minister of Cultural Affairs and Information Technology Ashish Shelar, who is also the Mumbai suburban guardian minister, by visiting his Bandra office.

"We met Shelar and briefed him about the issue, and he has taken all the data from us. Being the Mumbai suburban guardian minister, he will be conducting a joint meeting with the chief minister today so as to resolve the issue faster," local resident Sriram Pawar, who attended the meeting, said.

The two-deck bridge, with the upper deck being built by the MMRDA and the lower deck built by the BMC and MahaRail will affect 19 buildings in the vicinity. Though authorities said only two buildings - Haji Noorani and Laxmi Niwas - will be directly affected, residents said that it was not the case as per notices received by locals.

Sources said that the bridge may not shut immediately now and residents and motorists are now pushing for closure of the bridge after the monsoon. "The bridge is going to be shut for another three monsoons, so instead of that, if the bridge shuts post this monsoon season, it will be just for two monsoons instead of three. As it is being delayed, the authorities should spare Mumbaikars this monsoon at least," Ramnivas Shetty, a local motorist, said.

A local resident, Swapna Gaokar, said that the plan to rehabilitate locals must be made clear. "Until then, we will not allow the bridge to be closed." Authorities said that the plan to bring down the bridge in two phases, with the non-railway portion and railway portion of the bridge, is already in place with the demolition expected to be completed by July 10 this year. Any further delay will affect the construction timelines of the bridge.

Meanwhile, Shelar said that he would discuss the residents' issues with the chief minister. "I have assured that the issues of the residents living in the Elphinstone bridge area will be resolved by talking to the officials concerned and the chief minister. The old Elphinstone bridge will be demolished and a new bridge will be constructed in its place."

"Two buildings in the vicinity may be damaged in this work. Also, the citizens of the area will have to face some inconvenience during this demolition and construction. The residents of the area met me at my Bandra office and discussed their problems. I shall discuss the issues with MMRDA officials and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis," Shelar said.

July 10
Day bridge demolition is expected to be completed