Mumbai: Following the recent Mumbai-Pune Expressway traffic chaos, Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Legislative Council Milind Narvekar has demanded the provision of a helipad and emergency facilities on Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), also known as Atal Setu.
In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Narvekar highlighted that if an incident like the Mumbai-Pune expressway occurs on the Atal Setu, there is a need for helipads and emergency arrangements to rescue passengers stranded in the middle of the sea. Recently, a tanker carrying highly flammable propylene gas overturned in the hilly Khandala Ghat section earlier on the expressway, leaving traffic and people stranded for over 30 hours.
The MLC in his letter added that he also got stuck on the Expressway when he went to Pune to meet the family members of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash on January 28. " I myself was going to Baramati by this route at 10.00 am to pay a condolence visit to the Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra (Tai) Ajit (Dada) Pawar. I had seen the condition of the tanker with my own eyes."
He further added, "It is necessary to hold a review of the emergency arrangements on the Atal Setu."
"With travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai reduced to just 20 minutes, this has led to an increase in vehicular traffic on the sea bridge, he said. According to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, the Atal Setu facilitated the movement of 83,06,009 vehicles over the past year.
Narvekar calls for an emergency plan on an urgent basis
Narvekar called for an urgent emergency plan to deal with situations arising from accidents such as the one on the Expressway or from natural calamities. "There should be an emergency plan and a helipad (on the Atal Setu) on an urgent basis," Narvekar said.
The Atal Setu, which links Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai, was thrown open to the public in January 2024. Of its entire length of 21.8 km, 16.5 km runs over the sea.
Recently, a Pune-based industrialist, Sudhir Mehta, who had taken a helicopter from Mumbai due to the massive traffic jam, had also called for the need for a helipad on the expressway.
In his tweet, he had said, "Helipads cost less than Rs 10 lacs to make and require less than one acre of open area. These need to be mandatory at various points near the expressway for emergency evacuation."
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