Of two new Mahalaxmi ROBs planned, only one underway
Mumbai: Over a decade ago, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) began planning for two alternate bridges to replace the century-old Mahalaxmi station bridge; all these years later, work on only one is underway. The deadline is October 2026, but an extension is on the cards. Mumbai, India. June 24, 2025: View of under-construction Mahalaxmi Cable bridge. Mumbai, India. June 24, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (RAju Shinde)
Like many other British-era bridges in Mumbai, a structural analysis by IIT Bombay in 2016 called for reducing the load on the Mahalaxmi railway over-bridge (ROB), which goes over the station tracks. The current structure is T-shaped, connecting both Worli and Haji Ali from around the Mahalaxmi Race Course to Saat Rasta.
In response, the BMC planned two bridges on either side of the old bridge, both leading to Saat Rasta, also called Jacob's Circle. One, at its south, would lead from Keshavrao Khadye Marg (KK Marg), and the other from Dr E Moses Road. Together, they would divert and distribute traffic from the congested junction onto the two arms.
After some delays, work orders for both ROBs were passed in 2020, but the work took time to begin as encroachments had to be removed. Yet, when the BMC's budget in February this year listed progress on the bridge as 35%, it was referring only to one of the bridges—the one from KK Marg to Saat Rasta. Work on the second ROB is yet to begin.
'Both bridges are needed,' said Abhijit Bangar, additional municipal commissioner (projects). 'But with the second bridge, there are quite a few buildings and structures coming in its way. The cost of shifting and rehabilitating everything in the way is coming up to be approximately ₹ 200 crore, which is more than the cost of the bridge. Hence, the BMC is yet to take a call on it. It hasn't been scrapped, but we have yet to take a call on whether we will go ahead with the rehabilitation or think of another way to do the bridge.'
The bridge from KK Marg to Saat Rasta, a cable-stayed bridge due to the limited road space to accommodate the pillars, has a deadline of October 2026. Meanwhile, in 2022, it was decided that the bridge would be extended until the S bridge in Byculla.
There is little argument among commuters that an alternative to the Mahalaxmi station bridge is needed. 'The junction, without a doubt, sees a tremendous amount of traffic,' said Lalit Jogani, a frequent user of the bridge. 'But part of the reason for that is that there are bus stops and taxi stands too close to the junction at the station. Share cabs are piled up at the junction, sometimes double-parking and taking ad-hoc U-turns. If these stands were shifted slightly away, it would help decongest it,' he added.
When asked about the alternate bridges, Jogani said, 'The KK Marg bridge will help reduce traffic, but a lot of vehicles also travel from Worli near Famous Studio, for which the other bridge from E Moses Road would be necessary. Till that comes, those vehicles will continue to use the old bridge.'
Architect Alan Abraham of Abraham John Architects also agreed on the need for alternatives, but suggested a different, more pedestrian-friendly, plan. 'It is us who initially came up with the idea of the two alternatives to the old Mahalaxmi station bridge, envisioned as underpasses, around a decade ago,' he said, with his plan detailed in a video from 2016. 'After several consultations with the BMC, they have retained the routes of what we planned, but changed them to road-over-bridges, which is the worse option.'
Abraham explained that for a bridge going over the railway tracks, a long ramp will be required on either side, which will take up valuable road space, as well as having to axe around 250 trees in the process. 'An underpass is the better option, as it would not require land acquisition, would be far cheaper than the cable-stayed option the BMC is going ahead with, would not compromise the road, and would not add to the concrete clutter above ground. The BMC still has the option to go ahead with an underpass for the yet-to-begin bridge from E Moses Road to Saat Rasta,' he said.
But Abraham's plan did not end with the underpasses. Recognising the heavy pedestrian load on the Mahalaxmi bridge, he had proposed a complete pedestrianisation of the T-junction as it stands currently, extending from the Mahalaxmi Race Course. 'Our plan imagined turning the old bridge into a public pedestrianised deck, adding to the continuous green spaces in the city by at least 1.7 acres at Saat Rasta,' he said. 'It also takes into account the several pedestrian nodes around the area, which have been planned poorly, but this would make the walk to the interchanges to the monorail and metro stations far better.'
After the new bridges are constructed, a decision will then be made on what will be done with the old bridge. While an official from the BMC's bridge department said it would be re-girdered, Bangar said its fate would have to be decided by the BMC and Railways jointly.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
5 hours ago
- India Today
Survivor's guilt, scorn: How Vishwaskumar Ramesh is dealing with life and loss after Air India crash
The gift of life may turn into a curse if you are the only survivor of a plane crash that claimed 271 lives, including 241 co-passengers—one of them your brother. British national of Indian origin Vishwaskumar Ramesh, 40, who miraculously escaped when Air India Flight AI171 plunged into an Ahmedabad medical college compound shortly after take-off on June 12, appears to have battled severe survivor's has been unable to sleep. His survival came at a profound cost—the loss of brother Ajay, 45, who was seated just across the aisle on seat 11J. Ramesh was the occupant of 11A. Besides the heavy burden of survivor's guilt, his ordeal was compounded by a baseless businessman from Leicester, UK, described the crash as a blur of terror. 'Thirty seconds into take-off, there was a loud noise and the plane crashed. It was sudden. When I woke up, I found bodies all around me,' Ramesh has told DD News channel from his hospital seat, it seems, detached during the crash, landing in a narrow gap between buildings where loose soil cushioned the fall, saving him from the fireball that the aircraft turned into. 'The plane broke and my seat came off,' Ramesh told doctors, recounting how he had unbuckled himself and crawled through a shattered fuselage, his left hand burned by flames. The brothers, natives of Diu, were returning to the UK after visiting family in their ancestral village of Bucharwada. Ramesh has returned to his village, where he is refusing to interact with anyone except footage of the air tragedy had captured him stumbling barefoot through the plane's debris, shouting, 'Plane fatyo che! (The plane exploded!)', even as he tried to return to the wreckage to find Ajay, only to be restrained by first guilt, a well-documented psychological phenomenon, likely gripped Ramesh in the days that followed. Clinical studies describe it as a profound sense of remorse or unworthiness experienced by those who survive a tragedy while others, especially loved ones, do survivor's guilt can manifest as intrusive thoughts, depression or a fixation on 'why me?'. Ramesh's repeated statements—'I don't know how I survived' and 'I still can't believe I'm alive'—suggest a struggle to process it all. His proximity to Ajay during the crash likely amplified his sense of responsibility, as if he could have done something to save his public nature of his suffering, amplified by viral videos, may have further complicated his ability to grieve privately, as the world watched his every move. The heart-wrenching visuals of Ramesh, bandaged and limping, carrying Ajay's coffin during the funeral procession in Diu on June 18, underscored his grief. Ramesh broke down multiple times, shouldering his brother's bier alongside their father, Ramesh Bhalia, as the family Ramesh grappled with his loss, a disturbing rumour surfaced on social media. It suggested he had fabricated his presence on the flight. The rumour spread rapidly, fuelled by the sensational nature of the crash and the public's fascination with his survival. The origins of it are unclear, possibly stemming from misinformation or scepticism about how someone could survive such a catastrophic event June 20, actor and singer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, in her now-deleted post, said: 'So this #vishwaskumarramesh lied about being a passenger on the plane & the only survivor? This is seriously weird. Didn't his family in the UK corroborate his story? What about his brother's funeral that he was seen giving kandha to? Deserve not only some serious punishment but some mental asylum time if this is true, uff.'Within hours, several independent social media influencers and users circulated reels and posts, joining the bandwagon of scepticism against Ramesh, and a rumour that he was arrested by police caught the backlash was also swift. Social media users condemned Krishnamoorthi for her insensitivity, pointing to overwhelming evidence of Ramesh's survival: hospital records, police confirmation, Air India's passenger manifest listing him on seat 11A, and video footage of him emerging from the wreckage. However, videos and posts continue to police commissioner G.S. Malik and Dr Dhaval Gameti, who treated Ramesh at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, confirmed his identity and injuries, noting he was 'disoriented with multiple injuries' but out of danger. Ramesh's survival was not only verified but celebrated by authorities, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah visiting him in hospital. And yet, the rumour's brief traction reveals how quickly public perception can shift from empathy to scepticism, particularly in high-profile to India Today Magazine- EndsTune InTrending Reel
Economic Times
7 hours ago
- Economic Times
Muskets, markets and models: Why AI is the new engine of revolution
It began with a 'boundary', unlike with a bang for the Universe. Thousands of years ago, on the banks of the Tigris River, a small group of people did something no human had done before. ADVERTISEMENT It was crude—woven reeds and branches—but it enclosed something: wheat, barley, and goats. It marked, perhaps for the first time, something that was 'owned', and not 'shared'. The agricultural revolution had begun. Until then, homo sapiens moved with the seasons, living in bands. Agriculture brought stability, and with it, abundance. But it also brought division—those who owned land, and those who worked it. The fence didn't just mark a field. It marked the beginning of power. But with ownership came exclusion, and with exclusion came conflict. Once resources could be stored, they could be taken. Raids replaced wandering. Walls replaced kinship. Scarcity was no longer about nature—it was about who held the surplus. The first fortified settlements weren't for wild beasts, but rival clans. Agriculture didn't just change how we lived—it changed why we fought. ADVERTISEMENT If the Agricultural Revolution marked the beginning of ownership, the next great revolutions were about who gets to decide, who gets to rule, and who gets to benefit from growth—enter the Dutch, British and French revolutions. The Dutch Revolution (1568 to 1648) emerged from a prosperous, mercantile society's growing desire for religious freedom and self-rule. The Netherlands had fuelled the Spanish Empire for decades—wealthy, literate, and commercially sophisticated. But when the Spanish crown sought to tighten control through religious conformity and heavy taxation, resistance grew. What began as political unrest escalated into a brutal, drawn-out conflict—the Eighty Years' War—marked by city-wide sieges, economic collapse, famine, and devastation. Yet amid this chaos, something transformative took root. With the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia, the Dutch finally secured independence. In its aftermath, the world witnessed the birth of the first modern republic, the first stock exchange, and a striking new paradigm: that commerce—not aristocracy—could shape the destiny of a nation. ADVERTISEMENT The Industrial Revolution (c1760 to 1840) was ignited by a potent convergence of coal, capital, and invention that fundamentally redefined how humans worked and produced. It took root in Britain's damp textile towns and soot-stained mills, where steam engines, spinning jennies, and ironworks accelerated productivity and reshaped entire industries. Cities swelled with labour, but beneath the promise of progress lay deep human cost. Workers endured punishing fourteen-hour shifts; children were forced into hazardous labour under humming looms. As mechanization displaced skilled artisans, the Luddites rose in fury, smashing the very machines that threatened their way of life. Overcrowded slums bred illness and unrest, and economic stratification hardened into structural class conflict. While the revolution ushered in modern economies and birthed the middle class, it also introduced systemic inequality and sparked radical ideologies like Marxism. Power shifted to those who could master machines, and though the age brought progress, it did not bring peace. The French Revolution, which erupted in 1789, was the culmination of centuries of royal extravagance, mounting economic crisis, and the simmering force of Enlightenment ideals. The monarchy, deeply in debt and indifferent to public hardship, presided over a population that could scarcely afford bread. As grain prices soared and inequality became unbearable, the masses rose in revolt. What began with outrage in pamphlets soon spilled violently into the streets. Paris bled as the Bastille fell, the monarchy crumbled, and the guillotine cast its long shadow over king and citizen alike. Robespierre's Reign of Terror followed, only to be succeeded by the rise of Napoleon, who crowned himself emperor in a republic still searching for stability. Though the revolution ended absolute monarchy and seeded democratic ideals across Europe, it also proved that noble intentions do not shield societies from chaos, especially when power lies unclaimed. ADVERTISEMENT These revolutions may have differed in cause and character, but they followed a remarkably consistent arc. Each began with a group poised to gain rising against those with something to lose. Violence was not incidental but instrumental—a mechanism of transition rather than chaos. Old institutions—empires, monarchies, artisan guilds—collapsed, and in their place emerged new systems of governance, production, and power. They were not always clean or successful, but they reshaped how societies functioned, how economies operated, and how individuals understood their roles. Though past revolutions were chaotic and violent, they were visible—marked by slogans, battles, and treaties. Today's revolution is quieter, but no less transformative. ADVERTISEMENT It runs on servers and learns with every click. Not led by muskets, but by models, this revolution may change what it means to be human. Intelligence, once purely biological, now evolves in machines. As Max Bennett notes in A Brief History of Intelligence , traits like memory, imagination, and reasoning took nature millions of years to develop. AI has been gaining them for decades. We're no longer programming tools—we're training minds. AI threatens to upend every existing hierarchy, not just by replacing roles, but by redrawing the very structure of power. A new class division is emerging—between those who own the algorithms and those who are shaped by them. Platforms become landlords of digital capital; users, the new labour. Influence over elections, markets, and warfare will lie with those who command data and compute. As land defined power in the agrarian age, and capital in the industrial one, intelligence—artificially concentrated—is becoming the new fault line between the empowered and the is inevitable. Jobs will vanish. Nations will clash over technological dominance. Truth itself will blur under deepfakes and disinformation. Education no longer assures an edge. Labour loses primacy. Identity is malleable. Markets react not just to fundamentals, but to synthetic narratives. Most critically, AI is recursive. It learns how to improve itself. It accelerates as the fence marked the beginning of power, the neural net may mark the end of humanity's monopoly over it. We are no longer the sole authors of change. But revolutions don't just rewrite code or law—they reprice belief. And nowhere is belief more foundational than in financial over half a century, the U.S. dollar has been more than a currency—it has been a consensus. Not backed by gold, but by trust: in American institutions, its central bank, and its role as the global stabiliser. The world bought dollars not for yield, but for belief sustained a remarkable imbalance—the dollar's dominance in global finance far outstripping America's share of global output. But belief is brittle. Political brinkmanship, debt ceiling theatrics, and the return of inflation have chipped away at that trust. And as confidence falters, so too does the foundation beneath every dollar-denominated asset—from oil and equities to the scaffolding of global financial stability. In such a world, the old rules of investing—buy good companies, hold for the long term—begin to break. Fundamentals no longer move markets on their own. Instead, flows, liquidity cycles, and sentiment dominate. Valuation models struggle to keep pace with regime shifts. Macro narratives overpower micro truths. Greed and fear displace patience and discipline. Cycles—across stocks, sectors, and market caps—are taking over. And they're getting shorter. What once unfolded over years now collapses into months, driven by the speed and scale of modern capital. The rise of retail participation—turbocharged by social media, zero-cost trading, and an always-on information stream—has added momentum to this churn. In this fractured environment, investing has become less about conviction and more about context. Less about holding through cycles, and more about surviving their whiplash. The half-life of belief is collapsing, and with it, the foundations of traditional investing. We used to price value. Today, we price belief—and belief, increasingly, is built on noise. History does not move in straight lines—it turns on ruptures. From the first fence to the first factory to the first algorithm that wrote a sentence, every revolution has redrawn the contours of power, belief, and conflict. What began with land shifted to machines, then to ideas, and now to intelligence itself. As markets mirror this upheaval—not just reacting to capital, but to chaos—the task for asset allocators is no longer about riding a single trend or trusting a single heuristic. It is about staying anchored in a world of shifting tides. Navigating revolutions, yes—but more urgently, navigating cycles. Because in an age where conviction is fleeting and regimes turn fast, it is the ability to adapt to cycles—across styles, sectors, and sentiment — that will define the path to consistent, risk-adjusted returns.
Hindustan Times
14 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhi govt renews push to rename Najafgarh drain as Sahibi river
Delhi's Najafgarh drain may soon be renamed the 'Sahibi river', with the city government submitting a fresh proposal to the State Names Authority (SNA) under the urban development department. The move is part of efforts to raise awareness about the historical river, which once flowed along the same path that is now occupied by the drain. The Sahibi River originates in Rajasthan, flows through Haryana, and enters Delhi before merging with the Yamuna. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo) The Sahibi River originates in Rajasthan, flows through Haryana, and enters Delhi before merging with the Yamuna. Within Delhi, its course is currently known as the Najafgarh drain. As part of a recent submission to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Delhi government attached digitised survey maps from 1975-76 showing the Sahibi river's original course through the Capital, now channelled as a stormwater drain. The government said a similar renaming proposal was submitted last year, but was returned by the SNA, which asked the city to first obtain concurrence from the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA). A revised proposal is now under review. Efforts to rejuvenate the channel are already underway, officials said, but rebranding it as a river is key to public engagement. 'To generate people's support, it necessitates avoiding use of the word 'drain/nala', due to the stigma and misconception associated with it—that it symbolises a channel carrying dirty water. Therefore, it's prudent to officially name or rename the channel as Sahibi River,' the Delhi government said in its NGT submission dated May 24 and uploaded on June 26. Manu Bhatnagar, principal director of the natural heritage division at the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), said the Sahibi was originally a rain-fed river, which over the past two centuries, steadily shrunk due to encroachments and agricultural expansion. 'Earlier, the water table was high, and the river sustained itself year-round. Over time, it narrowed, and parts dried up—particularly near Dharuhera in Haryana, where much of the riverbed was absorbed by farmland,' he said. 'The river merges with outfall drain number 8 in Haryana and flows toward the Dhansa Barrage and Najafgarh lake. In that sense, Najafgarh lake forms part of the Sahibi river system, with the river feeding it upstream. Downstream of the lake, the channel was once known as the Sahibi nallah—today, it exists as the Najafgarh drain,' he said. Historical records also trace the evolution of the river's identity. An 1807 Survey of India map labels it 'Saabi nala'. By 1865, the British had excavated a channel from Najafgarh lake to Wazirabad to boost cultivation, and the channel began to be referred to as the Najafgarh drain. The 1883 Gazetteer, Bhatnagar added, described the Sahibi nallah as 'a series of water-filled ditches'. The NGT is hearing a petition filed by Prakash Yadav, a resident of Kharkhara village in Haryana, who alleged that the Sahibi river is being neglected and filled with sewage, causing overflow into nearby farmland. The tribunal has sought reports from both Delhi and Haryana on actions taken for the river's restoration and the protection of surrounding areas. The Delhi SNA, which examines all name change proposals, comprises 29 members, including four MLAs and officials from various state departments. It is typically chaired by the chief minister, with the chief secretary as vice-chair. Proposals are first vetted by a subcommittee led by the principal secretary (urban development) before being placed before the SNA for final consideration. In February last year, the NGT had asked the Delhi government to clarify whether the Najafgarh drain was ever historically known as the Sahibi river and whether renaming it could aid its revival.
