Andheri bridge collapse: Piyush Goyal orders inquiry, announces compensation of Rs 1 lakh for injured

After a road overbridge (ROB) collapsed on rail tracks in suburban Andheri amid heavy rains, Union minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday called it an “unfortunate” incident. He also ordered an inquiry and said that the commissioner of rail safety will give a report in 15 days. Goyal further said that they are trying to restore all railway lines by the end of the day. He also said that five people were injured in the incident and announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to each. Railways will also take care of their medical expenses, he said. The minister further said that Railways will carry out joint safety audit of 445 such bridges in suburban Mumbai to prevent similar incidents in the future. Railways will conduct the audit of such Foot-over-bridges (FoB) along with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and it will be conducted under the leadership of experts from IIT Bombay, he added. Five people were injured after the bridge collapsed in Andheri on Tuesday, the BMC said while adding that two of them were seriously hurt. Train services of the Western Railway (WR) were stopped after the bridge, built in 1971, collapsed, a railway official said. Goyal had earlier tweeted:

Part of Road Over Bridge has fallen on tracks near Andheri Station impacting rail traffic. Directed officials to speed up repair work and rapidly restore traffic in close coordination with other departments. I have also ordered an enquiry by Commissioner of Rail Safety.

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 3, 2018

The Overhead Equipment (OHE) was also damaged and a team of engineers are working to restore services, Western Railways’ Chief Public Relations Officer Ravinder Bhakar told PTI. With inputs from PTI **Follow LIVE updates on Andheri bridge collapse**