Mumbai’s Rs 900 Crore Skywalks: From Pedestrian Pathways to Hawker Havens

Mumbai: The Rs 900 crore Mumbai skywalk project, designed to help pedestrians avoid heavy traffic, has failed to live up to its promise. Instead, these 36 elevated walkways, including 24 in the island city and suburbs, have largely been reduced to shelters for hawkers, beggars, and drug addicts. Citizens, dissuaded by their poor maintenance and lack of escalators, often shun these structures altogether.

Despite the skywalks being handed over to the BMC in 2016-17, many are in disrepair. Areas like the Nana Chowk skywalk remain underused, with escalators out of order for months. At Sion, Dharavi, Cotton Green, and Santacruz, the skywalks are overtaken by encroachers and often stink. The Vikhroli skywalk is half-demolished, while others are coated with filth and neglected by pedestrians. The BMC spends around Rs 2 crore per month to maintain them, but this hasn't led to any visible improvements.

Activists, including Anil Galgali, are calling for an audit of these skywalks, with some suggesting they be dismantled in favor of foot overbridges. As footpaths and pavements remain congested with hawkers, proposals are being made to rehabilitate them within the skywalks, offering a solution that may revitalize these underused structures and restore their original purpose.