Versova to Madh and Marve to Manori bridge projects finally get villagers nod
Mumbai: Just when traffic snarls seemed to be draining out Mumbaikars energy every single day. Here is one reason where a large section of the daily commuters can heave a sigh of relief.
The construction of two bridges, one running from Versova to Madh Island and the other connecting Marve to Manori, which had been stalled for the past two years due to opposition from the locals has got a go ahead.
Currently, the only way to access these islands is either by crossing the creek with a ferry or by taking a detour through the Mira Bhayandar area.
Once these bridges are built they will not only reduce the distance of travel by nearly 20 km each, but also result into saving valuable time lost otherwise by almost one hour.
The BMC claims that villagers from Versova and Manori who had opposed this project for two years have finally agreed to let the civic body conduct necessary pre-construction surveys. These surveys will take approximately one week and the BMC intends to complete it before the monsoon sets in.
The villagers initially opposed this project as they believed their houses will be displaced. Moreover, most of them are either fishermen or ferry-wallas and they believed their livelihood will be taken away if a bridge connecting the islands to the city is constructed.
“The villagers are afraid that the bridge will take away their ferry business, which is a major source of income. Besides, they are afraid that the area where they dry their catch will also be consumed. Moreover they are opposed to development because they believe it will take away their identity,” a senior official of bridges department said on condition of anonymity.
These villages are popular tourist destinations, but are yet untouched by urbanization.
“After Minister Vinod Tawde, BJP MP Gopal Shetty and Congress MLA Aslam Sheikh visited the area, they assured villagers that the government will come up with a fool-proof policy for resettlement within that area itself, ensuring minimum displacement. They also assured that alternative means of livelihood will be provided to them. Only then have the villagers agreed to let us conduct a geo-tech survey (soil testing), and station survey (mapping the entire area),” said S O Kori, chief engineer, Bridges department. This bridge will be 1.1 km long and will reduce the distance from Andheri (East) to Madh Island from 23 km to 8 km. It is a four-lane bridge.
According to Kori, the bridge between Marve and Manori will be 1.3 km long. It will reduce the distance between Link road and Manori creek from 32.8 km to 5 km. Kori said that the BMC has been able to convince the villagers of Versova just now, and if this project goes well, they will be able to hold it as an example to convince the villages of Manori for the second bridge.
The work of the Versova-Madh Island connecting bridge will start in 6 months. However, Mahendra Ladge, ex-chairman of the Vesav Machhimaar Society (Versova fishermen’s society) denied that the villagers gave permission to conduct surveys. He said, “Some anti-social elements of the villages went to the meeting with ministers and agreed on the behalf of the villagers.”
Eeshanpriya M S
