Mumbai, Jul 24 (PTI) A dilapidated ROB at Lower Parel was closed for commuters from today, causing a huge inconvenience to lakhs of people who now have to walk down a narrow lane to reach the road outside the railway station.

Officials of the Western Railway said the 97-year-old Delisle ROB (Road Over Bridge) may remain closed for operation for the next two years.

The city traffic police put a poster near the entry of the ROB informing the commuters and motorists that it has been closed following a request by the WR.

The commuters who have offices at Lower Parel, Worli, Currey Road, Elphinstone Road and Mahalaxmi and travel by road to reach the railway station are bearing the brunt.

They are forced to walk down a narrow lane to reach the road outside the railway station.

The commuters fear another Elphinstone Road station like stampede that killed 29 people last year.

"The huge flow of the commuters in such a narrow space is reminding us of the last year's stampede. It took us 10 minutes to travel a distance of 100 meters. I don't know how long will it take to reopen the bridge," said a miffed commuter.

The WR said it might take at least 24 months to erect a new bridge.

A senior officer said, "It will take three months to come up with a tender and another 2-3 months to dismantle the ROB. After that it will take at least 18 months to construct a new bridge".

He said the WR is aware of of the hardships being faced by the commuters and that proper deployment of the RPF personnel will be made.

"The Railways will do every bit to complete the bridge as soon as possible," the officer said.

Some activists demanded that the ROB remained open for pedestrians.

The decision to destroy and erect a new bridge has been taken after officials of the WR, IIT-Bombay and the BMC found that the bridge was in poor condition.

A pathway of an ROB had collapsed earlier this month near Andheri railway station, prompting the authorities to undertake a safety audit of bridges above its tracks with the help of the city civic body and experts from the IIT-Bombay.

The other five bridges which need reconstruction or repair are Ferere ROB at Grant Road, Belasis ROB at Mumbai Central, Tilak ROB at Dadar, Carol ROB at Prabhadevi and one at Mahalaxmi.

A detailed inspection of 145 FOBs (Foot Over Bridges) and 29 ROBs under the jurisdiction of the BMC, MMRDA and the PWD that fall under WR corridor is underway.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)