Mumbai: Residents of Kirol and Khalai, two Gaothans located at the west end of the new Vidhyavihar flyover, scheduled to be inaugurated today (Oct 22) have demand that the road bridge over the Central Railway line should be named as Kirol Gaon Uddanpul.
Flyover To Improve Connectivity
The demand comes as several others names have been suggested for the bridge, a crucial infrastructure that fulfill a long-pending demand for road connectivity between the eastern and western areas of Vidyavihar and Ghatkopar, besides providing a link between the arterial LBS Road and Ghatkopar-Mahul Road.
The names of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, late actor Nana Patekar, and Captain Smit Machchar, the pilot hailed for preventing a hijack of a flydubai flight on September 30.
Villagers Highlight Historical Legacy
Residents of the localities said they respected the people whose names have been suggested for the bridge's official name. Kiran Kamble from Kirol said, "Captain Smit made India proud and Nana Patekar is a Padma Shri awardee. However, the bridge has been build on land that once belonged to the villagers. This is the first major infrastructure project in the village though our village dates back to the 12th century before the founding of Mumbai," said Kamble who pointed out that historical records from the Mahikavati (modern-day Mahim and Dadar area) kingdom, established around the 13th century by King Bimb-dev of the Yadava dynasty, mentions the locality.
"The revenue records for Ghatkopar still mentions the area as Kirol. The bridge will preserve the name of the village for the next generations," said Kamble.
Lenster Rodrigues, another resident of Kirol said that to build the said flyover and for the development's sake the sons of soils had to give away their ancestral property and part of their houses. "Even in the past the residents of the above area had contributed to the development of Vidhyavihar by giving away lands and fields," said Rodrigues who pointed out that during the construction, the residents of Kirol and Khalai Gaothan had to face many difficulties such as no power supply, no water supply due to cable and pipeline damages while digging the road.
"Instead of giving names of any dead politicians or other leaders who have not contributed towards the development of the said area or done anything good for the welfare of area. Kirol gaothan is named the Development Plan of the city and existed even before the Britishers arrived in Mumbai," said Rodrigues who added that the 189 Gaothans of Mumbai sacrificed their lands and agricultural way of life to give a ay their land at nominal prices for the growth of the city.
The residents have written to the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Mayor, and Chief Minister to consider their demand. The authorities are yet to announce a nale for the flyover though it is expected to open for traffic today.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
