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Mumbai trans harbour link to get suicide barriers after 15 sea jumps since 2024
The government is also considering introducing robotic watercraft called ‘Robo security’, which have been deployed in three beaches in Raigad district to help rescue drowning people
- PUBLISHED: Wed 1 Jul 2026, 6:00 AM
Suicide barriers will be erected along the 22-km Mumbai Trans Harbour Link after 15 people reportedly jumped into the sea since India’s longest sea bridge, linking south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, opened in January 2024. Twelve people died, while the bodies of the remaining three have not been recovered.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said a high-level committee of government officers will recommend measures to curb such instances. The barriers to be erected along the bridge (16.5 km of it runs over the sea) would prevent people from attempting to jump into the sea. Uday Samant, the industries minister, said the entire 22-km-long stretch would be barricaded to stop suicides.
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The present emergency response unit includes motorcycles and other vehicles, speedboats and ambulances.
The bridge is also covered by a CCTV surveillance network. But in many cases, the authorities are unable to prevent the suicides from taking place.
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The government is also considering the possibility of introducing robotic watercrafts, called ‘Robo security’, which have been deployed in three beaches in Raigad district in the state, to help rescue people drowning in the sea.
In May, two Mumbai residents were rescued by a remote-operated buoy, which rushed to help them, reaching the spot within a minute and rescued them. The remote-controlled devices can rescue people caught in the sea, covering distances of 800 m and pulling up to 200 kg.
Other long bridges over the sea in and around Mumbai, including the 5.6-km-long Bandra-Worli Sea Link, have also witnessed a growing number of suicides in recent years.
With many other long bridges being constructed in the metropolis, officials plan to include measures to prevent people from jumping into the sea.
The Versova-Bandra Sealink and the Mumbai Coastal road (which will provide seamless connectivity from Nariman Point in the south to Bhayandar in the north, a distance of 42 km), are other projects that will initiate moves to prevent people from jumping down.
Similar attempts to jump from a long bridge into the sea at Vashi in Navi Mumbai saw the authorities launch suicide barriers. The Vashi police have been urging the authorities for over a decade, to install barbed wires to prevent people from committing suicide.
