Iron Sheet Comes Loose From Skywalk, Injures 2 In Maharashtra's Ulhasnagar

Two men, one on a motorbike and the other on an auto-rickshaw, were injured when a heavy iron sheet came loose from a skywalk and fell onto the road below near the railway station in Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra, on Saturday.

The sheet left the two men bruised, but they escaped serious injury.

The cause of the incident was not yet known. Residents demanded an immediate inquiry by authorities and a thorough audit of the skywalk, citing concerns over public safety and the upkeep of the structure in a crowded area.

The road below the skywalk sees heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the station.

The 18-year-old skywalk is set to be demolished anyway, but the hazard for now remains live. The skywalk is under the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), after it was built by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in 2008.

Since the maintenance contract expired in 2015, the structure has suffered from severe neglect and vandalism. The UMC General Body has officially approved the total demolition of both the East and West Ulhasnagar skywalks, as the city plans to clear the area completely to make way for the upcoming Station Area Traffic Improvement Scheme (SATIS) project. This new initiative aims to redevelop the station surroundings and offer more modern, effective traffic management.

(Inputs from Amjad Khan)