November 04, 2025: The long-delayed Bandra East skywalk project, connecting the Bandra railway station to the MHADA office and the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), is now set to open for public use by the end of December, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The civic body has fast-tracked the project following sharp criticism from the Bombay High Court in August, which rebuked the BMC for delays and described its inaction as “municipal lethargy.”
BMC’s chief engineer (Bridges), Uttam Shotre, confirmed significant progress on the project. “The work was moving at a slow pace, as there are many utilities underneath. We are carrying out work only at night, when there is no traffic. Almost 80% of the work is completed, and the skyway will be ready for public use before December 31,” he said.
The project is being closely monitored by the High Court, which is hearing a 2023 petition filed by Bandra East resident and senior citizen, KP Purushothaman Nair. Nair raised concerns over the lack of a vital pedestrian link in one of Mumbai’s busiest areas. The next hearing in the case is expected in December.
The court, in its earlier observation, expressed strong disapproval of the civic body’s repeated delays. “It pains us to see the lives of commuters being risked and inconvenienced on account of such municipal lethargy. The commuters are required to walk not only in filthy surroundings but in chaotic and tumultuous conditions in the absence of a safe pavement and, more so, in the absence of a foot overbridge,” the judges noted.
The original foot overbridge, which connected Bandra East to BKC, was demolished in 2021. Though BMC promised to rebuild it within 15 months, construction only began in March 2023, missing multiple deadlines since then.
Source: The Free Press Journal
