1 Arrested in CSMT Bridge Collapse
Azad Maidan Police arrested Neeraj Kumar Desai owner of the firm who conducted the structural audits of the CSMT foot over bridge that collapsed killing 6 people. The BMC has now decided to demolish 1
On 14 March 2019 the Foot Over Bridge (FOB) connected to CSMT collapsed killing 6 people and injuring 31. There are many dilapidated bridges in Mumbai.The CSMT bridge was constructed between 1984-1986 and it was inspected in August 2018. It collapsed a mere 5 months after the inspection.This incident has angered many citizens. After the CSMT bridge collapsed the BMC barricaded 11 bridges that were extremely unsafe. These bridges will now be demolished.
In August 2017 the Mahad bridge in the Raigad district had collapsed killing 41 people and in July 2018 the Andheri bridge had collapsed injuring many. After these incidents, the BMC had appointed consultants to inspect more than 290 bridges and FOBs. Out of these 110 were in good condition,107 required minor repairs,61 needed major repairs and 14 were to be demolished. 3 bridges were demolished.The BMC will begin demolishing the bridges soon, and conduct another inspection of all bridges and FOBs.
Earlier BMC had given the firm Prof DD Desai’s Associated Engineering Consultants and Analysts Pvt Ltd the responsibility to conduct the inspection of all the bridges. On 18 March 2019, the Azad Maidan Police arrested Neeraj Kumar Desai who owned the company. The police said that he was a professional structural engineer. His irresponsibility has lead to the death of 6 individuals.
