Mumbai, 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 inconvenience it will cause, especially since the FOB is the only link between Dharavi and Sion as the Sion ROB (road over bridge) is being reconstructed," Raefel said. According to local residents, the FOB is primarily used by students as 10-15 educational institutions, including schools and colleges, are located in Sion. Domestic workers and drivers residing in Dharavi also take the FOB regularly to reach Matunga, King's Circle and Sion. "The FOB will not be closed at least until the Ganpati festival ends. A meeting is scheduled after Ganesh Chaturthi where further steps will be discussed," Raefel said. The half-decade-old FOB, called Matunga Dharavi FOB, was among four FOBs earmarked by the Central Railways (CR) for closure ahead of the Ganpati festival, after they were found to be in a dilapidated condition and unsafe for use. The other three FOBs were the Bhandari FOB at Masjid, the Masjid station FOB, and the Matunga Level Crossing FOB at Bhau Daji Road. All four FOBs were inspected jointly by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and CR officials on August 27 and structural audit reports for the four FOBs were submitted by IIT Bombay on August 31. Regarding the Matunga Dharavi FOB near Guru Nanak High School, the BMC wrote to the CR, saying, "The FOB.has been observed to be in a distressed condition, structurally unsafe, with deterioration and corrosion affecting critical structural components. In view of the observed distress and considering the potential risk to public safety, it is strongly recommended that the FOB be closed to pedestrian traffic immediately and the structure be considered for demolition and reconstruction."...