The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided and plans to reconstruct a portion of the first skywalk in Bandra. BMC took this step owing to the infrastructural defects shown by a third-party auditor. The skywalk begins from SV Road Bandra (West) to the BKC junction. As per BMC officials, the Western Express Highway and the eastern side of Bandra station part of the skywalk would be reconstructed at the cost of nearly Rs 16.2 crore. BMC has invited bids for the rebuilding work, and September 13 is the last bid submission date. The Municipal Corporation plans to demolish and rebuild the skywalk within 18 months, along with the monsoon period. At first, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) constructed and developed the skywalk and afterwards, in 2015, gave it over to BMC for maintenance. In 2019, monsoon season, a part of the Bandra skywalk (East) collapsed and injured a woman. Following this event, an audit was issued regarding the stability of different skywalks. HT revealed that BMC is considering demolishing a part of the skywalk to make it structurally stable. However, the implementation of the plan got delayed due to the Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns. Besides the Bandra skywalk, 23 additional skywalks are due to undergo major rebuilding or renovations. In March 2019, after the collapse of the Himalaya Bridge at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, BMC appointed the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) to advise main renovations for 24 skywalks, including the Bandra one. Satish Thosar, the chief engineer of BMC, bridges department, informed that a decision on the remaining other skywalks would be taken in the upcoming days. He said they plan to conduct rebuilding and demolition as per the traffic flow on the station road, as it is not possible to close the road. Image Source Also read: BMC to repair five bridges and two FOBs in Mumbai