Stone piece falls off University of Mumbai Fort campus gate raising safety concerns

A stone piece fell off the entrance gate of the University of Mumbai's Fort campus on Monday, raising safety concerns for students, staff, and visitors. The incident occurred at the entrance located opposite the Bombay High Court in the Fort area of Mumbai, but no injuries were reported.

According to university officials, the stone piece had become loosened over time. The dislodgement occurred because branches of neighbouring trees had been rubbing against the structure.

The university has written to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) requesting that the overgrown tree branches be trimmed to prevent further damage to the structure.

The Fort campus is a designated heritage structure, which means any restorative work requires official clearance. An anonymous university official stated that repair work will begin as soon as the university receives permission from the archaeology department.

The entrance gate opposite the Bombay High Court was recently opened for public use on May 2. This opening occurred after the university's other entrance, located opposite the Bank of Baroda, was closed for its own repairs.

Following the incident on Monday, Yuva Sena Senate member Pradeep Sawant and former Senate member Rajan Kolambekar met with University of Mumbai Registrar Prasad Karande to discuss the situation.

Karande informed the representatives that the delay in starting the repairs was due to the pending permissions from the archaeology department. He also confirmed that the university had already reached out to the BMC to address the tree trimming.

Sawant and Kolambekar demanded immediate repairs to both of the campus entrances. They stated they would follow up with the relevant authorities to speed up the approval process from the archaeology department and expedite the BMC's tree trimming work to ensure the safety of students, parents, staff, and pedestrians.