Mumbai: In yet another example of administrative apathy, the works for Hancock Bridge near Sandhurst railway station have come to a standstill, implying that the already delayed bridge construction will be deferred further. Meanwhile, BMC officials have alleged that the Central Railway (CR) has halted works, citing lack of permission from the commissioner of railway safety (CRS).
The Hancock Bridge was dismantled by the CR in January 2016 after proclaiming it as “dangerous”. Ever since, there has been growing clamour to construct a bridge as many track-crossing accidents have occurred near Sandhurst Road railway station. However, the construction work has been delayed by more than two years. Civic officials said that while the BMC had started piling works to lay the foundation of the bridge, the railway authorities halted the works saying that a no-objection certificate (NOC) was required from the CRS for the works.
“We had taken all the permissions required for the works. But now, the railway authorities are insisting on a NOC from the CRS, due to which we had to halt the work,” said a senior civic official. According to railway authorities, the major reason for the delay is encroachments near the bridge. Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR, said, “There is no lack of co-ordination between BMC and CR officials on the construction issue. There are some encroachments, which need to be removed before undertaking the construction work. We are working out plans on how to remove those encroachments.”
The construction of Hancock bridge was mired in difficulties including the contractor row first and then the GST dispute. The BMC finally allotted the construction work to Sai Projects (Mumbai) at a cost of Rs 41.31 crore. The work is expected to be completed in 19
months.
