'Gokhale Bridge Issue of Shame,' Aaditya Thackeray Demands Suspension of BMC Chief, Railway Officers

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former minister in the Uddhav Thackeray cabinet Aaditya Thackeray on Friday, March 8, asked the Governor to suspend BMC commissioner over the non-alignment of Gokhale bridge and Barfiwala Flyover. 

Aditya Thackeray wrote to Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, asking to place Mumbai civic commissioner (administrator) IS Chahal and railway officers involved in the construction of Gokhale bridge under suspension. Thackeray said that construction has resulted in wastage of taxpayers' money to the tune of several crore rupees.

"The Gokhale bridge reconstruction by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Railways is a national shame. It is an example of politician-official nexus. The news has reached all over the globe but the two agencies continue to play a blame game," Thackeray said in his letter. He claimed the BMC chief was not being transferred by the chief minister despite orders of the Election Commission of India.

He said the local MLA and other officials visited the site multiple times since work began in 2021 but failed to notice the lack of alignment between the under-construction bridge and the connecting flyover. "Was it on purpose that the fault was created so the bridge could be broken again and rebuilt? The BMC commissioner and railway officials must be suspended to face probe," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said.

What is Gokhale bridge-flyover alignment fiasco? 

After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opened a portion of reconstructed Gokhale bridge for vehicular movement last week, it was noticed that the bridge didnot align with the connecting Barfiwala flyover that was built just over a decade ago. The portion has been built over the tracks at Andheri station.

The Gokhale bridge was shut for vehicular traffic from November 7, 2022 due to its dilapidated condition and was opened after reconstruction. Before the vehicular movement was stopped in 2022, the Gokhale bridge was linked to the Barfiwala Flyover and was used by commuters from the area to head towards Juhu and then proceed to key suburbs like Bandra. 

But the newly constructed bridge is 6 feet apart from the flyover, and the BMC is being ridiculed for the same. The government said the bridge wasn't aligned with the flyover due to a new policy of Indian Railways which necessitates raising the height of Gokhale bridge by additional 1.5 metres as it was being built over railway tracks. 

(With inputs from agencies)