Dancing atop 20 of Mumbai’s bridges dangerous, authorities tell Ganesh devotees

MUMBAI: Amidst concern over the safety of foot and rail over bridges in different parts of the city, the Mumbai Police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have come up with restrictions on devotees participating in the immersion of Ganesh idols on Thursday on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi.

Safety guidelines issued by the BMC include ban on devotees dancing on top of the bridges while the idols are taken for immersion. Reutes file photo

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, September 11

Amidst concern over the safety of foot and rail over bridges in different parts of the city, the Mumbai Police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have come up with restrictions on devotees participating in the immersion of Ganesh idols on Thursday on the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi.

Safety guidelines issued by the BMC include ban on devotees dancing on top of the bridges while the idols are taken for immersion.

“Devotees should be …divided into smaller groups. Sound systems should be switched off while traversing the bridge and no one should dance while on the bridge. Do not pause on the bridge and cross it quickly. Ensure that the bridge does not carry more than 16 tonnes at a time,” the guidelines issued by the civic body said.

Police officials say they have been asked to regulate the number of people on top of the bridges at all times during the Ganesh festival.

”Earlier there was concern about traffic jams and stampedes when Ganesh processions crossed the bridges. Now there is the question of safety of the bridge itself,” a police officer from the Marine Drive
police station said.

Major Ganesh pandals like Lalbaugcha Raja immerse their idols on the last day of the Ganesh festival. Lakhs of devotees accompany the idols and the presence of heavy vehicles like trucks adds to the load on the bridges, BMC said in its advisory.

The BMC, which had conducted a safety audit of several foot-over bridges and rail over bridges following several mishaps in the past few years, says major bridges have been weakened with age. Moreover
heavy cable lines have been laid by various utilities like power, gas and cable companies adding to the load borne by the structures.

Most of the bridges mentioned by the civic body are on arterial roads carrying thousands of vehicles daily. While 16 of the bridges are located on the Western Railway line, four are on the Central Railway line.