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Ten days after mid-day flagged dangerous light fixtures on the heavily used Santacruz East skywalk, civic workers have removed one hanging unit above Vakola signal, but several loose fixtures still remain across the stretch, raising safety concerns for thousands of daily pedestrians using the link to reach Santacruz station and cross the Western Express Highway.

Damaged light fittings on the busy Santacruz skywalk, which residents say still need urgent repair. Pic/Madhulika Ram Kavattur

While the most hazardous light has been taken down, residents say the broader maintenance problem persists, with multiple fittings either non-functional, disconnected or dangling from frames, leaving parts of the skywalk dimly lit and potentially unsafe. Civic officials claim, meanwhile, that the tender for repair work has been invited. 

Residents raise alarm

Maxim Fernandes, Member, St Anthony’s Street Welfare Association
‘Proper care has to be taken for a piece of infrastructure used by so many. Residents plan to write to the ward office seeking urgent repairs’

Ivan Pais, Resident, Santacruz East
‘My follow-ups have gone nowhere… lights are installed but not connected, and work orders don’t translate into action’ 

What has changed 

Removed
The light hanging by a single wire at the Vakola junction 

Unresolved
Several loose fittings remain across the span

New concern
Fixture swaying near the stairway on the WEH northbound side 

Skywalk in numbers

1 major dangerous light Removed from above Vakola signal after mid-day report
 
10 days
Time since the issue was first highlighted
 
Multiple fixtures
Still loose, non-working or disconnected
 
1 newly spotted risky unit
Swaying at the northbound WEH stair entry
 
Thousands of pedestrians
Daily users linking the east, west and railway station