Gokhale Bridge fully opens after seven years of distress
Mumbai: On Sunday evening,
, connecting
and West, was made fully operational after nearly seven years since the tragic collapse of a portion of it in July 2018—which claimed two lives and injured three.After the July 3, 2018 disaster, the bridge was shut for almost a year, only to be partially opened in 2019.
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But owing to Covid, the bridge didn't experience major traffic movement. When the pandemic restrictions began to ease by Nov 2022, the bridge was again shut after an inspection revealed that various elements, including RCC columns, tie beams, girders, deck slabs and bearings, were heavily distressed and weakened due to corrosion. Between Nov 2022 and Feb 2024, it was completely shut for reconstruction.For Andheri residents, Sunday evening marked the end of a long wait, as the bridge was fully opened to traffic. Over the last seven years, the bridge remained either closed, under repair, or partially accessible—disrupting east-west connectivity. Locals are relieved, especially with the monsoon approaching, as the heavily waterlogged Andheri subway was the only alternative."The bridge's reopening will ease pressure on the Andheri subway," said Karan Jotwani from the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association (LOCA). Another resident, Abhijeet Sonone, said there would be a huge traffic backlog on the route on many days, with only one phase open. "But this was still better than the bridge being entirely shut to traffic," he said.Guardian minister Ashish Shelar, who inaugurated the bridge, congratulated local MLA Ameet Satam for regularly following up with the authorities to ensure the bridge was completed. Also present were Andheri (East) MLA Murji Patel and MP Ravindra Waikar.When some residents raised concerns about the quality of the bridge's road surfacing, Satam said the road has been made with mastic asphalt and will settle in time. "That's the way it is made," he said.Additional municipal commissioners Abhijit Bangar said the administration was clear that it did not want to go beyond the monsoon for finishing the bridge. "We had set May 15 as the target and are happy that our team has worked hard to open it well before time," he said.
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Hotels refused to serve even tea, with those in hotels making sarcastic remarks that all their servers had joined school. But after persistent efforts and discussions with the people, the tide began to turn. People began to cooperate and even transformed it as their movement. Children who were seen in work places were sent to bridge schools under the NCLP. Public meetings emphasised the necessity of education and the need for children to go to school. In these meetings, children recognised their (former) employers who let them stop work and go to school. Under peer pressure, former employers also made a public announcement of writing off the balance amount (principal, the interest and penal interest) owed to them by the parents who took hand loans from them (the children were used as mortgage and as child labour till the amount was repaid). They even distributed school stationery to the children. 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On October 8, 2021, as a part of the 'Azadi ka Amruth Mahotsav', the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, (VVGNLI) Noida, Uttar Pradesh (under the Ministry of Labor and Employment, Government of India) organised a programme in Nizamabad. The event was to celebrate 20 years of successful intervention 'to eliminate child labour and the declaration of Veilpur Mandal, as Child labour free'. All sarpanchs, caste elders, zilla parishad members and people involved in the campaign were honoured for their role in sustaining it. The challenge made to the local media to identify at least one child who was not in school had no takers. A leading news magazine had an exclusive report on this event. The Velpur story is well documented and has been appreciated by the ILO and the media. Velpur has been visited by many experts in the fields of education and child labour. The former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and members of the National Human Rights Commission India sent letters of appreciation. The Velpur model, where there was the complete participation of the community in sustaining the fight against child labour, is an integral part of all training programmes that are organised by the VVGNLI. Made aware of its sustained success, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development asked the then District Collector, who led this campaign, to make a presentation before it on November 24, 2022. The Parliamentary Standing Committee appreciated and acknowledged its success. What is vital This is a community-led success story that is testimony of the axiom that social issues can be successfully and sustainably addressed only if they metamorphose into a people's movement. It is a proud moment for this writer to have been associated with it. He was the Collector of Nizamabad district, when this drive against child labour was taken up in Velpur in 2001. Asok Kumar G. is a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, and is currently a senior faculty member in the Centre for Policy Research
