Mahad bridge tragedy: Now, 153-year-old Kalwa bridge in Thane shut down by authorities

Following the tragedy of the Mahad bridge collapse, the Thane Municipal Corporation on Wednesday decided to shut access to the 153-year-old British-era Kalwa bridge that runs over the Thane creek, reports The Times Of India. As per the report, a few years back, a barge had rammed into the bridge, causing damage and weakening the structure of the old bridge. After this, heavy vehicles were not allowed on the bridge. [caption id=“attachment_2937314” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Mahad bridge gives away due to torrential rain. PTI.[/caption] The bridge held great significance as it was the only link between Thane and the suburbs until the civic body built an alternative two decades ago. Sandeep Palave, deputy commissioner of traffic said, “The structural audit of the bridge was conducted in 2010, which declared that the bridge was dangerous for heavy vehicles. After this audit, there was no audit in the past six years. We had permitted only two- and three-wheelers on the bridge all these years.” reports Hindustan Times. As per the report in Hindustan Times, Ratan Awsarmol, city engineer of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), contrary to Palave’s claims, revealed that an audit that had been conducted a year ago, said that the bridge was weak and could not be repaired. However being a heritage site, the bridge could not be demolished, he reasoned. The Thane Police following instructions, now ,will allow only pedestrians on the Kalwa bridge. Both light and heavy vehicles have been denied access. Built in 1863, Kalwa bridge in Thane became a cause of concern for people, after the Mahad bridge collapse on 2 August, reports DNA. Mahad bridge was also a British-era bridge located on Mumbai-Goa Highway, about 170 kilometres from Mumbai. The river that turned choppy due to the heavy downpour in its catchment area in Mahabaleshwar, weakened the foundations of the nearly-century-old bridge, which ultimately gave way on Tuesday night. Devendra Fadnavis said that apart from two state-run buses, a Tavera and a Honda City car had also fallen into river after the bridge crumbled on Tuesday night. On Thursday, the Maharashtra Chief Minister announced that eight bodies had been recovered so far and 42 people were still missing. According to the DNA report, Dayanand Nene,  president of Alert Citizens Forum, concerned about the occurrence of a similar mishap, wrote to TMC and Public Works Department (PWD) and other authorities to put a complete stop on vehicular movement on Kalwa bridge_._ The traffic department has asked the TMC to conduct a fresh audit of the bridge, as reported by The Times Of India.