Local residents have been demanding that bridge be opened in time for festival
The second arm of the bridge was opened for traffic on Sunday. Pic/Ashish Raje
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opened one more lane of the arterial Delisle Road bridge on Sunday morning, two days before Ganesh Chaturthi. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and local residents have been protesting to get the bridge opened in time for the festival. The civic body has allowed two-way traffic from one side of the bridge which has two lanes. The bridge, however, has no footpath for pedestrians yet.
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After the first arm of the Delisle Road bridge was opened in June 2023, the BMC announced that another arm, which was landing on NM Joshi Marg, would open by the end. However, due to a shortage of gravel, the work was stuck. Then the BMC announced that both sides of the second arm would open for traffic, but due to heavy rain and a shortage of gravel, it was decided to complete one side of the second arm before Ganesh Chaturthi which falls on Tuesday.
On Sunday morning, the civic body opened one side of the second arm, allowing two-way traffic via the two lanes. This will continue till work on the other side is completed and opened for traffic,” said an official.
Two-way traffic was started on one side of the bridge. Pic/Ashish Raje
Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ulhas Mahale said the work could be completed due to relief from rain in August. “Girders that connect the railway side bridge and the NM Joshi arm were launched in August. After that, the mastic, ramp, concreting, painting and street lighting works were done. One side of the second arm has been opened,” Mahale said.
Last week, local residents held an agitation against the BMC and demanded the opening of all sides of the bridge before the Ganesh festival. The residents had even brought along their children to protest. “Our demand was to open both sides of the bridge before the Ganpati festival,” said Gaurav Sankpal, a member of the Lower Parel Bridge Kruti Committee.
Speaking with mid-day, Sankalp said, “We have expressed our displeasure to Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar. We waited for five years for the work to be completed and had a terrible experience during this time. We demand that the other side be opened soon. The guardian minister has assured us of this.”
Meanwhile, commuters were happy that the key bridge opened as they would no longer have to take a detour and would save about an hour of travel time. Sabir, a delivery man who was eagerly waiting for the bridge, said a lot of people suffered due to closure of the bridge. “I would have to travel at least an additional 4-5 km daily on cycle for work. This will provide some relief,” he said.
The first arm of the bridge between Lower Parel and the railway Workshop was opened on June 1, 2023. The bridge was pulled down in 2018. The BMC has spent around Rs 210 cores on the bridge which has four lanes.
Sunday political circus
On Sunday morning, MLC Sunil Shinde, former mayor Kishori Pednekar and another party worker of Shiv Sena (UBT) reached the bridge and tried to take the Ganpati idol across. However, they were stopped by the police. Kesarkar then reached the spot with BMC officials and after a discussion, it was decided that one side of the second arm be opened.
“Continuous efforts are being made to complete the construction of this bridge as soon as possible so that Mumbaikars are not inconvenienced. On June 1, the westbound lane was made available, while now one eastbound lane has been opened. This will reduce the traffic pressure,” said Kesarkar. He added that this will also provide relief to local Ganesh mandals that once used the bridge to bring in idols.
Shinde said that for the past few days, efforts were being made to open the second arm. “The route opening on Sunday will benefit citizens of Lower Parel and Curry Road, as well as citizens travelling to south Mumbai. The opening of this route is important, especially in view of the increasing number of devotees and vehicles during Ganeshotsav,” he said.
2018
Year the old bridge was pulled down
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