'Kasab Bridge' And The 'Himalayan' Tragedy Mumbai Suffered

The reconstructed Himalaya bridge near CSMT station in Mumbai, which collapsed on March 14, 2019, was recently thrown open to the public. ( Image Source :Photo: ABP Majha (screengrab) )

Recently I walked on a pedestrian bridge in Mumbai that has a history of being in news for all the wrong reasons. You would not have been reading this column today had I stepped onto the bridge at CSMT on the fateful evening of March 14, 2019. After finishing my journalistic assignments of the day, I sipped a cup of tea with my colleague Mrityunjay Singh at the Mumbai Press Club, and then headed for the CSMT railway station to catch a local train for Wadala, where I live. Mrityunjay accompanied me as he had to take a train to Ghatkopar, his home.

Both of us were about to put our feet on the first step to climb the bridge that connects the Times of India lane to the station, an explosion-like sound jolted us. Within moments, the area got engulfed in a mini dust storm. There was mayhem all around. As the dust cleared, we saw several dead bodies lying in a pool of blood and people with injuries wailing on the DN Road under the bridge. The bridge had collapsed during the evening rush hour when a large number of people used it to catch trains for their homes. Seven persons died instantly and 30-odd people were injured. The frontal of a taxi was badly damaged by the debris of the bridge, and the passengers escaped by a whisker.

The tragedy led to a huge uproar in the city. It turned out that the bridge collapsed due to lack of maintenance, and it required repairs as well. Four persons, including BMC engineers and auditors, were arrested on charges of negligence. After the tragedy, foot over-bridges across the city, including those at railway stations, were shut down. Many were declared unfit for use and were demolished. Repairs and renovation of some bridges began.

The Himalaya Bridge, as it was named, was in national news for another tragedy in 2008. Out of the ten terrorists that landed from Pakistan and stormed various locations at Mumbai on November 26, two of them took this bridge. That night, after massacring people at the CSMT railway station, Ajmal Kasab and Ismail climbed on to this bridge to move towards the Cama Hospital lane. While on the bridge, they shot anybody who came into their sight, and threw handgrenades below on the road. It was at this time that veteran photojournalist Sriram Vernekar, who is known as Ramu among Mumbai journos, clicked Kasab firing towards the road from his Kalashnikov. Ramu’s cabin was just adjacent to the bridge on the second floor of the Times of India building, and he could clearly see movements of the terrorists from his glass window. As Ramu clicked Kasab, the flash light of the camera caught his attention and he fired six shots towards Ramu. However, Ramu was miraculously saved. Ramu’s click was the most defining picture of that terrorist attack, and was carried on the front page of the newspaper next day. Seven months later, during the trial, when Kasab was shown that picture in the courtroom, he started laughing. The journalists in Mumbai referred to the bridge as “Kasab Bridge”.

The Himalaya bridge was demolished after the tragedy. However, a probe by the BMC revealed that over 50,000 pedestrians were using it daily. Hence, it was decided to reconstruct it. It took four years to rebuild that 50 metres long bridge for the richest municipality of India. Thankfully, the completed bridge was thrown open for the pedestrians recently, without any fanfare and politicians to cut the ribbon. The new bridge is a bit wider than the previous one and looks sturdier. Soon, an elevator would be attached to it as well. Hope the convenience offered by the Himalaya bridge in its new avatar erases tragic memories associated with its past.

(Bombayphile is published every Saturday where Jitendra Dixit writes about the past and present of Mumbai.)

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