Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a probe into the foot overbridge collapse in south Mumbai on Thursday and said that the guilty would not be spared.
Fadnavis said that the FOB’s structural audit was conducted along with that of other bridges in the city last year and the bridge was found to be fit. “(This accident) raises a question mark over the audit," he said.
The structural audit of the bridge was conducted along with 445 other bridges after another foot overbridge had collapsed last year in Andheri. Thursday's collapse was the third in less than 18 months in the city. At least five people were killed and 32 were injured in the accident.
The bridge outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus was under repair when it came crashing down on Thursday evening. It connected the bustling CST railway station with the Azad Maidan Police Station and the accident took place during peak hours.
Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Vinod Tawde said that the FOB only had “minor defects" and it was not considered “risky". He said it will be probed why the bridge was not closed despite repairs being undertaken.
Congress leader Murli Milind Deora blamed the BJP and Shiv Sena for the collapse, as the bride was under the BMC. He said that the bridge had passed a safety audit conducted six months ago, and demanded that the auditors who cleared it be booked for murder.
BJP MLA Raj Purohit also said that action should be taken against the engineer who gave certificate to this bridge in auditing. “He should be arrested. He should be punished," he said.
Reactions poured in on social media right after the collapse, with some demanding accountability from the concerned authorities, while others condoling the death of the victims and praying for the safety of those injured.
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