Mumbai | A man died and three others were injured after a parapet segment of a bridge of the under-construction Metro Rail Line 4 collapsed on passing vehicles in Mumbai's Mulund area around noon on Saturday, officials said.
The local BJP MLA claimed that he had flagged the "lapses" committed by the contractor during an inspection of the Metro works last month.
While Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh for the deceased man and promised a thorough probe, Opposition leaders slammed the BJP-led government and asked whether the lives of Mumbai residents hold no value.
The incident took place near Johnson and Johnson factory on LBS Road at 12.15 pm. The parapet segment fell on a passing autorickshaw and a Skoda car, nearly crushing both the vehicles.
Ramdhan Yadav, who was travelling in the rickshaw, died, while Rajkumar Indrajeet Yadav (45), Mahendra Pratap Yadav (52) and Deepa Ruhiya (40) were injured. The condition of Rajkumar Yadav was critical and he was admitted to ICU at a nearby hospital, a fire brigade official said.
According to local BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha, Ramdhan Yadav and his family members were travelling to a wedding.
In a statement, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) which is executing the Metro project said a portion of the parapet segment crashed near pier 196, close to the Mulund Fire Station.
Line 4 connects Wadala in south-central Mumbai to neighbouring Thane, with a large section passing over the arterial LBS Road.
MLA Kotecha blamed the MMRDA and contractor. The workers mistakenly cut the parapet segment instead of welding and securing it, and no supervisor was present at the time in violation of the Standard Operating Procedure, he claimed.
“Such critical work must be carried out under supervision. The weakened structure collapsed nearly 11 hours later,” the legislator said quoting a Metro official, and also claimed that the contractor had earlier been red-flagged for negligence on the LBS Road stretch.
He himself had carried out an inspection of the Metro work along the LBS Road with civic and MMRDA officials last month and identified "serious lapses" at more than 55 locations, said Kotecha.
“I had formally requested action against the contractor and wrote to MMRDA commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee recommending blacklisting and suspension. I also raised the matter during the winter session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly,” he said.
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, CM Fadnavis said a thorough probe will be conducted into the incident and action will be taken against those responsible.
A safety audit will be conducted immediately at all such construction sites as a preventive measure, he said.
"The accident in Mulund is very unfortunate. Our prayers are with the kin of the deceased and those injured. The government and MMRDA will take care of medical expenses of the injured," said Fadnavis.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray noted that a wall had collapsed and newly-inaugurated Metro Line 3 had got flooded amid heavy rains last year, and asked if the BJP-led government would blacklist the contractor for the latest incident.
It was not likely, the former minister further said, adding that the contractor will get away with a penalty of few lakh rupees and get more contracts.
"If you notice, pillars are already painted- before the work was completed...Even today, most infrastructure works have terrible barricading that either leads to traffic jams or vehicles falling into open pits....Life has no value under the BJP regime," he said.
"Soon a day will come when (other) countries will issue travel warnings for such things in our country," the Worli MLA said.
City Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad asked whether the lives of Mumbai residents have "become so cheap".
In a post on X, she said authorities were more focused on publicity around infrastructure projects than ensuring public safety and asked whether quality and technical safety standards were being compromised in the push to complete Metro works.
State Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal demanded that CM Fadnavis take responsibility for the accident which "exposed the reality of the BJP's development model".
Widespread corruption in the ruling alliance has compromised construction quality and public safety, and the slab collapse was an example of such substandard works, he said, asking why adequate safety measures were not in place despite the area being densely populated.
NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said the "life of Mumbaikar holds no value" for the government.
He also took a swipe at BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, saying the Mulund-based politician "has his eyes everywhere except his own backyard".
