India, Sept. 19 -- The foot over bridge (FOB) connecting Dharavi with Sion, which was earmarked for closure ahead of the Ganpati festival after a structural audit revealed it was unsafe, continues to remain operational as Dharavi residents have no other way to access schools, colleges and markets located in Sion.

On Wednesday and Thursday, residents staged protests near the FOB and dismantled blue metal sheets erected by authorities to block the staircase, with the backing of political leaders across parties.

Paul Raefel, a Dharavi resident who was present at the protests, said the FOB is used by several hundreds of people everyday.

"The authorities are simply shutting it down without taking into consideration the impact and inconvenie...