Detailed technical study over what caused the landslide is on the anvil
@hepzia
Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Divisional Authority (MMRDA) said that it would decide on whether to cut or retain the rock with safety nets alongside the Western Express Highway at Kandivali East that saw a landslide early on Tuesday morning. The landslide had blocked the Mumbai bound traffic.
It said that the rocks were loose and merely clearing the lower part of rocks could lead to further landslides and hence the entire rock portion had to be handled only after careful study. Though the MMRDA, that handles the entire Western Express Highway, had cleared two lanes of traffic for the South-bound traffic on the highway by Tuesday afternoon, three lanes continued to stay blocked.
The MMRDA said it would be able to clear the rest of the debris from the rocks only after a detailed technical investigation. “We believe that the rock is loose and parts of its keep falling on a regular basis thereby leading to safety concerns. There is a geological fault with the huge rocks that line the highway, which could recur yet again. The technical team that visited on Tuesday remained inconclusive on whether to just put up safety nets or to clear the rocks and how much portion of the rock to cut or retain for safety.
A decision would be taken after another detailed technical visit on Wednesday,” joint metropolitan commissioner of the MMRDA, B.G. Pawar told thenews21. He said that the MMRDA had probably conducted a geological survey of the rocks a decade back. A technical team from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the mayor of Mumbai Kishori Pednekar too visited the spot on Tuesday for inspection. Pednekar asked the MMRDA officials to clear the highway at the earliest and to put up safety nets on the rocks to avoid such incidents in the future. No one was injured in the landslide.
