A day after the Bellasis Bridge accident in which a 57-year-old tempo driver, unaware of the height barricade, collided with it leading to his death, the Nagpada police have booked the company who have been provided with the contract work of the barricade for not providing any intimation of the height barricade that led to the fatal accident.
The complainant, Chetan Gupta, 35, who was working with the deceased drive Ramu Kavaldhari Yadav as a helper for the last 10 years, told the police that he was inside the tempo vehicle during the accident, but he was left unscathed as he was sitting behind the driver's seat. Yadav and Gupta, on the night of April 10 left the Kamathipura area in Byculla, filled their tempo with sand, and went to Thane. After dumping all the supplies, they returned on early Saturday morning, and from Mumbai Central junction they went via Bellasis Bridge where the overflow height barricade made of iron was installed. Yadav, unaware of it, and given the no-traffic time, was at high speed, and ended up ramming into the barricade above. The windshield of the vehicle shattered along with the front part of the vehicle, and Yadav banged his head on the steering wheel, which led to his death, according to the police.
In the FIR, Gupta said that the authorities who installed the height barricade had not provided any intimation about it, or any sign boards alerting about the same.
Height Barrier Mishap Leads To Investigation As Mumbai Central Bridge Faces Demolition Plans
On Saturday, police said that the railway authorities had installed a height barricade of 3.50 meters to prevent heavy vehicles from entering it due to ongoing work. Officials at Nagpada police said that the supervisor of the contract company Narayan Shubal Das, along with other employees, including the contractor, project manager, etc, are booked for causing death due to negligence. Police have started the probe into the matter, however, no arrests have been made yet.
Meanwhile, on the same day of the accident, Saturday, authorities announced that the 130-year-old British-era Bellasis Bridge aka the Mumbai Central Bridge would be soon closed for demolition and reconstruction. The expected date is yet to be finalised and anticipated in June after discussions with the traffic police. No heavy vehicles including BEST buses will be allowed to ply on the bridge, said officials.
