FOB issue: HC seeks reply from cops on pedestrian crossing

The Bombay High Court today asked city traffic police to file their reply on continuing the pedestrian crossing outside a school for blind in Central Mumbai, even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is constructing a Foot Over Bridge (FoB) in the vicinity.
A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha directed the traffic police to file their reply by February 6. Till then, the civic body is refrained from carrying out construction of the facility.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by the Happy Home and School for the Blind, located on Annie Besant Road in suburban Worli.

The petitioner opposed construction of the bridge on the grounds that it would cause inconvenience to students as most of them suffer from physical disabilities and would find it difficult to cross the road through FOB.
The civic body, however, argued that the FOB was aimed for convenience of visitors to the Nehru Planetarium nearby.
BMC counsel Anil Sakhare told the court that enough space would be left on the pavement to ensure that people do not have to walk on the road.
According to the petition, the BMC had decided in 2011 to construct the bridge to eliminate recurring conflicts between pedestrians and motorists and to increase safety on roads.

The school had made representations to BMC seeking to oppose the construction of FOB which is coming up outside its gate. After several representations, the civic body told the school in June 2013 that the plan to construct the bridge has been scrapped. However, in December last the work began again following which the school approached the high court.