Officials say corrosion is eating the hangers away, endangering the structure itself. Thousands of people spit guthka - a chewable mixture of tobacco and slaked lime which often causes oral cancer - on the steel hangers. They also spit paan - betel leaf stuffed with areca nut, slaked lime and other ingredients. The spitting has become such a menace that "the hanger bases have reduced to 50% of their original size in just three years", said ML Meena, chairman of Kolkata Port Trust, which built and maintains the bridge. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-15837262
