Days after a portion of a foot over bridge collapsed in Mumbai, Shiv Sena on Saturday blamed the increasing population in the Maharashtra capital for failing infrastructure that killed six people and injured more than 30. The party in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana even attacked the opposition saying it was doing politics over the issue.
Nowhere in the editorial did the party mention who was actually responsible for a portion foot over bridge (FOB) collapsing on Thursday evening near the busy Mumbai CSMT railway station. Nor did the party blame the Maharashtra government led by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in an alliance with the Sena, or the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
In fact, Shiv Sena highlighted that the government has given compensation to family members of the deceased.
Also read: Mumbai bridge crash: 6 dead; BMC-Railways face heat
Even after the BMC on Friday took responsibility for the incident and the structural audit, the editorial questioned who was responsible- railways or the BMC. It asked that if maintenance work was to be done, was the permission given by railways or not, and who owns the bridge- the BMC or railways.
Putting the onus on the Mumbaikars, Sena said that the work to maintain and repair was getting difficult day by day. Blaming red tape for the delay in maintenance works, it said that there are several agencies and department both centre and state working in Mumbai such as the BMC, MMRDA, MHADA and Mumbai Port Trust, where files get stuck.
