Ganeshotsav 2026: 4 Foot Over Bridges At Masjid, Matunga Stations To Shut After IIT Mumbai Flags Them Unsafe; BMC Seeks Closure

· Free Press Journal

Mumbai, September 12, 2026: Four foot over bridges (FOBs) at Masjid and Matunga stations will be closed to pedestrians after a structural audit by IIT Mumbai found them to be in an unsafe condition, with deterioration and corrosion affecting critical components.

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The closures come just days before the Ganpati festival, when a sharp rise in crowds at railway stations could have turned any structural failure into a major disaster.

Four FOBs Declared Unsafe

The four structures are the Bhandari FOB at Masjid, the Masjid Station FOB, the Matunga Level Crossing FOB at Bhau Daji Road and the Matunga Dharavi FOB near Guru Nanak High School.

A joint inspection by BMC and railway officials was conducted on August 27, following which IIT Mumbai submitted separate structural audit reports for all four bridges on August 31.

The audits recommended immediate closure to pedestrian movement and also suggested that the structures be considered for demolition and reconstruction.

Closures Ahead Of Ganpati

The BMC has now asked the railway authorities to ensure that there is no pedestrian movement on the four FOBs until further directions. The move is particularly significant with Ganpati approaching, when Mumbai's suburban railway stations and adjoining roads witness exceptionally heavy pedestrian movement.

Central Railway has appealed to passengers to cooperate with the closures, stressing that the restrictions are necessary in the interest of public safety. The four FOBs are located along key stretches of the railway network.

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The immediate concern is not merely inconvenience to commuters but the additional pressure the closures could put on alternative routes during the festival. With lakhs of devotees expected to travel across Mumbai during Ganpati, railway and civic authorities will have to ensure that crowd movement is safely diverted around the affected structures.

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