Turbhe: A fatal accident at Turbhe Store has forced the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to promise a pedestrian bridge within a month, following a protest by residents demanding safer road-crossing facilities. The civic body has also assured them of traffic police personnel, security guards, CCTV cameras and traffic signals at the busy junction.

Chhaya Gaikwad, 50, was killed on Monday evening, October 26, after a garbage collection vehicle belonging to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) struck her while she was crossing the Thane-Belapur Road. She died on the spot.

The accident triggered public anger, with residents staging a road blockade and demanding immediate safety measures until the long-delayed Turbhe Store flyover is completed. “People should not have to risk their lives simply to cross the road,” residents said, highlighting the absence of safe pedestrian facilities.

Following the protest, residents submitted a memorandum to NMMC under the leadership of social activist Abhiman Jagtap. Executive engineer Pandharinath Chavde issued a letter on October 27, assuring them that the pedestrian bridge would be built within a month. The civic body also committed to deploying traffic personnel and security guards and installing CCTV cameras and traffic signals.

Residents said 23 people had died and more than 50 had been injured in accidents at the junction over the past decade. Thousands of workers, students and local residents cross the stretch daily, navigating heavy traffic without adequate protection.

The proposed pedestrian bridge comes as the flyover project remains incomplete. NMMC approved the four-lane, 560-metre flyover in 2019 at an estimated cost of Rs 41 crore. Technical complications, including issues involving an underground Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) sewer line, and administrative delays have held up the work.

Residents have welcomed the written assurance, but say the civic body must deliver on its promise. The immediate test is whether the bridge will be ready within the stipulated month