Although 36 skywalks, including 24 in the island city and suburbs, were constructed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for a total cost of INR 900 crore to help pedestrians avoid traffic, residents tend to avoid these elevated walkways, which have been turned into shelters for drug addicts, hawkers, and beggars.
As the majority of skywalks are in bad condition and do not have escalators, activists have called on the government to conduct an audit of their use, claiming that they are no longer useful. A recent midday assessment of the state of multiple skywalks revealed a dismal situation.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was given responsibility for the 24 elevated walkways in Mumbai in 2016–17, and the civic organisation spends about INR 2 crore each month on their upkeep. According to media reports, pedestrians were mostly spotted travelling from Grant Road station to the D ward office with the remainder of the infrastructure being barely utilised. An escalator is one of the few features of the skywalk. According to Sidharth Hegiste, a pedestrian, it has been closed for a number of months.
The skywalk at Sion seemed deserted, and it stank. Only from 7 am to 11 pm do two state security guard board workers keep watch. In their absence, drug users and beggars were visible. At Dharavi and Cotton Green, the narrative was the same. There was even a bad stench coming from the Santacruz skywalk on the Western Express Highway, where hawkers and beggars were gathered. While the Vikhroli skywalk was partially destroyed because of continuing construction on the east-west link, the Ghatkopar, Goregaon, Borivli, and Kandivli were all similarly encroached upon. The surviving portion was rarely used by people and was coated in dirt. The skywalks in Dahisar East, Bhandup, and Kanjurmarg were equally filthy. With a budget of INR 23.98 crore, the BMC started work to restore the Dahisar West skywalk.
According to civic activist Anil Galgali, Mumbai requires foot overbridges instead of skywalks. It's time to conduct a skywalk usage audit. Why is the BMC keeping these up when no one is utilising them? People avoid skywalks because they don't have escalators, so the authorities should make a definitive decision about taking them down, he said.
These skywalks are white elephants, stated activist and advocate Godfrey Pimenta. Few pedestrians use them, and hawkers have encroached on the majority of them. They aren't even cleaned or kept correctly. Nobody is aware of why they were constructed, he added.
Skywalks were constructed so citizens could prevent traffic and hawkers, stated civic activist Sanjay Gurav. Pedestrians, on the other hand, favour crossing the street. Skywalks are now being invaded by hawkers. He proposed that the BMC clean every walkway and restore all skywalk vendors. In this manner, shoppers can visit skywalks and pedestrians can stroll on pavements with ease!
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