Mumbai: Malad residents ramp up protest over bikers on FOB

Pic/Anurag Ahire

The residents of Evershine Nagar in Malad West have decided to give an ultimatum to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Mumbai Police to demolish illegally constructed ramps on a pedestrian bridge over the Malvani creek connecting Malvani and Evershine Nagar. The residents held a public meeting on Saturday evening to discuss the danger of two-wheeler riders who use this pedestrian walkway bridge.

A letter from the residents to the BMC and the police states the ramps have caused many accidents, including many that involved senior citizens. The residents have demanded demolition of the ramps which allow bikers access, stationing of traffic police at the FOB to stop bikers from using it, and installing of bollards to prevent bikers from getting onto the bridge.

The residents have given January 20 as their deadline, failing which, they plan on an huge protest, including an indefinite fast by Tajinder Singh Tiwana, a resident of Evershine Nagar and a BJP worker. Tiwana said at the meeting, "We have written letters to BMC and other authorities for the demolition of these illegal ramps but no action has been taken."

In a reply to an RTI query filed by Deepak Modi in 2016 asking why the ramps were not demolished even after BMC sending machinery to do so, the civic body had replied, "During the demolition, a local representative and some others had shown strong opposition."