The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) reconstruction of the 150-year-old Carnac Bunder bridge is now unlikely to meet its 19-month deadline as it has encountered a roadblock due to the non-availability of land as there are 12 unauthorised structures on the road — abutting two administrative wards.
As per reports from Hindustan Times, the reconstruction will likely be delayed by six months if the two wards do not immediately begin to demolish any unpermitted buildings on either side of the bridge.
'Remove all unapproved structures'
According to BMC, several structures at the site are proving to be a hindrance to the reconstruction. The bridges department has repeatedly requested that A ward in Fort and B ward in Dongri remove all unapproved structures, including hutments, buildings next to the bridge's existing retaining wall, encroachments, and projections onto the Lokmanya Tilak Marg, but to no avail.
A letter from BMC’s bridges department to A and B wards stated if the reconstruction is delayed it will lead to "heavy nuisance to the public, financial loss to the corporation, and traffic havoc in the locality"
Hence, the removal of all the affected structures needs to be carried out as early as possible, they said.
As per the HT report, majority of the structures have been removed and only three are remaining.
On November 20, 2022, a segment of the Carnac road over bridge (ROB) was demolished by Central Railways (CR), and the BMC's bridges department has not yet completed the repair of the full ROB.
The bridge was built in 1868–1869. Although it was deemed hazardous in 2014, the BMC was forced to postpone its construction since plans to replace the 150-year-old Hancock bridge, which spans Sandhurst Road and Byculla, were already underway.
