While BMC officials grapple with uncertainties surrounding the inauguration date for the Delisle Bridge in Lower Parel, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, accompanied by former mayors Kishori Pednekar and Snehal Ambekar, took matters into their own hands by opening the second carriageway of the bridge on Thursday. Despite ongoing work such as painting and lane marking, the Shiv Sena's move signals impatience with delays.
The inauguration, timed on the eve of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's death anniversary, was announced by Aditya Thackeray via Twitter. He stated, "Inauguration of Delisle Bridge. Now we don’t want VIPs from Khoke Sarkar; the public is suffering." However, civic officials highlight that essential tasks, including painting and lane marking, are pending, requiring an additional 3 to 4 days for the full bridge reopening.
Ulhas Mahale, deputy municipal commissioner (infrastructure), mentioned, "The asphalt work on the bridge was just completed last week. Currently, painting, marking lanes, making arrangements for traffic signals and street lamps and such works are in the final stage. So we will be able to open the entire bridge in the next 3 to 4 days."
Delisle Bridge, a vital link between Lower Parel, Worli, Prabhadevi, Currey Road, and Byculla, was closed on July 24, 2018, due to safety concerns identified by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Initially slated to reopen in May 2022, the deadline has been extended thrice. The closure has caused inconvenience to locals and commuters, impacting traffic in Parel, Dadar TT, and Mahalaxmi. The bridge's reconstruction involves collaboration between the Western Railway and the BMC, with contracts awarded in 2019 and 2020 for railway and approach road reconstruction, respectively.
As civic authorities work towards completing the xremaining tasks, the opening of Delisle Bridge's second carriageway by Shiv Sena underscores the urgency of resolving infrastructure issues that impact the public.
No FIR registered yet
On Friday night the BMC's bridges department was in process of registering a first information report (FIR) on Aaditya Thackeray for opening up Delisle bridge at Lower Parel. As per civic officials some works on bridge are yet to completed. The sources from police station said that no FIR has been registered yet.
