The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which plans to construct 50 skywalks across the city, will start work on the first pilot skywalk-cum-elevated hawking plaza at Kanjurmarg by October, said Metropolitan Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad. The MMRDA also plans to start work on constructing these exclusive walkways with hawking spaces at 25 stations post-monsoon. “The work for the Kanjurmarg skywalk with a hawking plaza on it will start by October. We also plan to start work on 25 locations around the same time and complete the work between January and March 2009,” Gaikwad said. The skywalk-cum-hawking plaza at Kanjurmarg would be constructed on the western side of the station, with the skywalk connecting the station to LBS Marg. The MMRDA has earmarked Rs 600 crore for the construction of skywalks in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) with hawking plazas included in the project design in an attempt to resettle commercial Project Affected People (PAPs) displaced by various infrastructure projects. According to Gaikwad, the decision was arrived at when resettled hawkers at Kanjurmarg station complained of loss of business after they were shifted to an interior location. “A skywalk can be a good instrument to solve the problem of the commercial PAPs. Hence, use of air space has become evident,” he stated. “Each tenement will be 100 sq ft and will have a lock and key. The breadth of the skywalk will be made around 30-35 feet so as accommodate hawkers and give sufficient place for commuters to walk,” he said. Gaikwad also said that the hawking plaza along with the skywalk will not exceed the budget earmarked for the skywalks by the state government in September 2007. According to him, the cost of constructing the skywalks instead of commercial centres is considerably low and it is less time consuming. “A km of skywalk-cum-hawking plaza can be ready in three to four months’ time,” he said. The metropolitan commissioner has also initiated a scheme to earn revenue through the project by introducing advertisement rights along the skywalks. “We can also get back 10 per cent of the project cost through advertising rights,” he stated. Meanwhile, the city’s first skywalk connecting Bandra railway station with Kala Nagar on the east of the station is nearing completion. and is expected to be inaugurated some time later this month. However, this 1.3-km skywalk does not include space for hawkers.
swapnil.rawal@expressindia.com