Dharavi Residents Protest Closure Of Matunga-Dharavi Foot Overbridge Citing Daily Commute Concerns Despite Safety Audit

Mumbai: Dharavi residents have prevented the closure of a public foot overbridge (FOB) connecting the area with Sion and Matunga, saying the move would severely inconvenience students, workers and residents who depend on the bridge for their daily commute. As of Friday, the FOB remained open to pedestrians despite a proposal to shut it on safety grounds.

Protesters remove barricades at bridge staircase

Residents living near the Matunga-Dharavi FOB, located close to Guru Nanak High School, protested on Wednesday and Thursday and stopped civic and railway authorities from blocking its staircase. Protesters also removed blue metal sheets put up to prevent pedestrian movement. The bridge is used extensively by residents from the Sion end of Dharavi to reach schools, colleges, markets and areas such as Sion, Matunga and Kings Circle.

Locals said the bridge is particularly important for students, with around 10-15 schools and colleges located on the Sion side. Domestic workers and drivers living in Dharavi also use it to reach their workplaces.

Students and workers among regular users

“This FOB is used by several hundreds of people every day. The authorities are simply shutting it down without taking into consideration the impact and inconvenience caused to those who have only this FOB connecting Dharavi with Sion, especially since the Sion ROB has also been demolished,” said Paul Raefel, a Dharavi resident who participated in the protest.

Raefel said residents had been assured that the FOB would remain open at least until the Ganpati festival. “There is a meeting after Ganesh Chaturthi where further steps will be taken,” he said.

BMC cites structural damage and safety concerns

However, the authorities have cited serious structural concerns. In a letter to Central Railway, the BMC said the FOB was in a “distressed condition” and structurally unsafe, with deterioration and corrosion affecting critical structural components. It recommended immediate closure to pedestrian traffic and demolition and reconstruction of the structure.

The Matunga-Dharavi FOB is among four FOBs identified for closure following structural audits by IIT Bombay. The other three are the Masjid Bhandari FOB, Masjid Station FOB and Matunga Level Crossing FOB. Of these, the Masjid Bhandari FOB has already been closed, while the remaining three are yet to be shut.

A Central Railway official questioned the continued opposition to the closures, saying the bridges pose a potential risk to pedestrians as well as railway operations below.

Central Railway said a joint inspection of the four FOBs was conducted by BMC and railway officials on August 27, followed by separate IIT Bombay structural audit reports submitted on August 31. The railway said BMC had requested closure of the structures until further directions, particularly ahead of Ganpati, when pedestrian movement is expected to rise substantially.

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