Nearly seven years after the project was initiated, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Saturday threw open a Rail Overbridge (ROB) connecting the eastern and western parts to facilitate smoother flow of traffic.
The bridge, while awaiting inauguration at the hands of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, witnessed some drama on June 16 when long-suffering residents and political activists removed the barricades and declared it open. Scheduled to be completed by 2011, the delay forced residents to use a 50-year-old ROB leading to traffic congestion and inconvenience.
Though it was shut down minutes later by the police, political outfits like the MNS and Vasai Jan Andolan Samiti staged protests demanding it be opened for use. To inhibit residents from using it, the MMRDA had put up a notice stating the bridge’s railings were yet to be complete and it should not be used for safety reasons. The ROB was finally thrown open in the presence of Vishnu Sawra, State Tribal Development Minister and Guardian Minister for Palghar, local BJP MP Chintaman Wanaga and Bahujan Vikas Aghadi MLA Hitendra Thakur. Constructed at a cost of Rs 48 crore, the 736-metre long and 11-metre wide ROB is an addition to the already existing one, which is only 8 metres wide and bears water pipelines and electric cables.
Now, with the new and additional arm, both bridges will be able to carry one-way traffic providing much needed relief to motorists.
Pravin Darade, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, said “The metropolitan region is top on our priority list.
