The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has taken suo motu action over a news report published in ‘The Hitavada’ City Line. The report showed that there is a serious lack of coordination between the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Police Department in stopping heavy vehicles from using the Shaheed Gowari (Sitabuldi) flyover. The Division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Ajit Kadethankar, has appointed Adv Ashish Chaware as amicus curiae to help in the matter. The court has asked him to file a proper petition within three weeks. The original news was published on August 18 in The Hitavada City Line.

 

 

The flyover has height barriers at both ends to stop heavy vehicles, but these barriers keep getting hit and broken by large vehicles like tankers, trucks, and buses. In a recent incident, a petrol tanker carrying 23,000 litres of fuel crashed into the barrier. The next day, a heavy truck hit the barrier from the other side and broke both ends. PWD officials said they had requested the police to post police staff at both ends of the flyover for a few months. This would have helped keep heavy vehicles away. However, because there were no police staff, the barriers were broken soon after installation. 

 

Contractors unwilling to work The PWD has been trying to fix the problem, but there are delays. Contractors are refusing to install new barriers because the World Bank unit of the PWD has not paid them for earlier work. This has created more problems. Experts had warned during construction that heavy vehicles should not use the flyover. Allowing such vehicles would reduce the bridge’s lifespan and increase the risk of damage. Despite this, vehicles like trucks, Excavators, and private travel buses continue to use the flyover. Seeing the danger, the High Court has started the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on its own to find a permanent and safe solution.