Although the Central Railway has announced to start dismantling the Sion rail over bridge (ROB) from February 29, the Mumbai traffic police are yet to receive the official word from the railway for planning diversions and additional deployment of personnel.
Traffic Police receive no notification yet
On Friday, local traffic police informed the Free Press Journal that no CR notification has reached them yet. “We have received no notification or request for no objection certificate from railways. There has been no communication hence there is no new diversion decided,” said a senior official.
On Thursday, the CR confirmed that all pertinent issues regarding the Sion ROB have been resolved. Thus, the project will now move forward without any further delays. The ROB was actually supposed to close from January 20, however, the deadline was pushed twice after MP Rahul Shewale demanded to halt the demolition, citing the potential traffic woes for the citizens.
Earlier, Matunga traffic division had crafted an elaborate plan to divert traffic once the Sion ROB shuts. It has erected no-parking and diversion boards at strategic spots, and removed hawkers from the roadsides. However, the plan remained on paper after Shewale’s intervention. The traffic police had identified the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road, Sulochana Shetty Marg and Dr BA Road as the routes to be used for diversions. These three roads connect the east, west and central regions. Hence, they were apt to be used as a substitute for the Sion ROB.
