The two foot-over bridges (FOBs) that connect Churchgate station to Wankhede Stadium are still to be dismantled by the Mumbai Cricket Association despite being declared by the Western Railway last year in August. Railway officials said they have reminded the MCA administration about the condition of the bridges but still no response.
WR has always contended that the two bridges are used only by cricket fans, rather than the general public, and thus it is the MCA’s responsibility to maintain them. The two bridges link the northern end of Churchgate station with Wankhede’s North Stand, Sunil Gavaskar Stand and Vithal Divecha Stand. Previously, the MCA had spent Rs 1.1 crore to repair the bridges on the recommendation of IIT experts. But recently, the engineers said they remained dangerous and needed urgent repairs.
Sumit Thakur, chief public relation officer, WR said they had sent a letter last year to the MCA regarding constructing new FOBs which connect Wankhede stadium after it was declared dilapidated by the IT engineers. However, they have not received any fruitful response from them. “As these FOBs come under MCA following which three times in this month we have reminded MCA about the FOBs as it’s condition is bad. We are still waiting for some response,” he said.
