July 31 deadline missed, Western Railway says Kandivali foot overbridge will be built by October

The railways said they will be making the new bridge by October 31 as girders of the bridge have been launched. “For making the new bridge, we had to construct a long a pathway. We had the sanction for working on that pathway only till July 31. Now that it has been extended to October 31, we are going to continue work on it,” Sanjay Mishra, Divisional Railway Manager, Western Railway, said.

Commuters had complained of a stampede-like situation after the bridge was shut for traffic. The railways had to deploy Railway Protection Force (RPF) to manage the crowd at the other bridges.

“For commuters wanting to enter the station from the eastern side, it is still difficult. We have to use the skywalk, get down at the western side and use the bridge on the northern side of the platform to access platform number 2,” Rohit Raina, a Kandivali commuter said.

According to the Western Railway, the bridge was shut as it was in a deteriorated condition. The railways had provided temporary access to the middle bridge for commuters by dismantling a boundary wall, levelling approaches and providing suitable lighting arrangements.