Mumbai: BMC to spend Rs 3 crore more on repairs of five skywalks

Workers paint a skywalk at Goregaon. File/Anurag Ahire

The civic body will spend an additional Rs 3 crore to repair five skywalks in the western suburbs, taking the overall spend to Rs 21 crore. The BMC's standing committee cleared a proposal on Tuesday, allowing a 17 per cent hike in the maintenance cost. The elevated walkways were constructed by MMRDA before being handed over to the BMC for upkeep.

Earlier, a part of a skywalk at Dahisar had collapsed, prompting the BMC to repair all the skywalks at Goregaon West, Kandivli East, Borivli West and Dahisar. Accordingly, officials set aside Rs 18.3 crore for the job.

After the foot overbridge at CSMT collapsed in March 2019, the BMC decided to carry out the audits of all the FOBs and skywalks in the city. While the audit report was submitted in 2020, the BMC proposed a Rs 3-crore increase in the cost of repairs of the skywalks in Borivli, Dahisar West and East, Goregaon and Kandivli East.

Calling the skywalks a white elephant, opposition leader Ravi Raja said, "Illegal peddlers rule the skywalks and they have become unsafe for pedestrians, especially women. Although crores of rupees are spent on skywalks, they are not being used. Therefore, the municipal administration should issue a white paper on how many Mumbaikars use the skywalks every day, and how much has been spent on repairs and maintenance so far."

Kamlesh Yadav, a BJP corporator, said, "If there is no security on the skywalks, it is bound to be misused and if the elevators or escalators are there, they are not in working condition. So if the BMC is spending money, they should make it user friendly to ensure these are used."

A civic official said, "There are various additions that have been suggested by VJTI such as using anti-corrosion paint, fibre resistant plates for the decks of the skywalks and various other technical changes to strengthen the skywalks further and to increase their life thus there is a price escalation. The proposal is approved and the repairs will start at the earliest."

Rs 18.3 cr
Initial repair cost of the skywalks