They have been waiting six years, but the struggle by Vasai residents for a safe crossing over from east to west is far from over. Construction of the bridge began almost eight years back and was to have been completed in 2011, but is still to open for the public.
Short on patience, residents decided to take the matter in their hands. After waiting for over a month for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to inaugurate the bridge, a group of people removed the barricades on Thursday evening. However, the police intervened shortly thereafter and the bridge was closed again. Manikpur police also registered a case against 15 people.
Soon other local political parties such as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Vasai Jan Aandolan Samiti jumped into the fray and demanded that the bridge be opened. Vivek Pandit, ex- MLA, the man behind the construction of the new bridge told The Hindu, “It’s been over six years, the project has crossed the deadline. The tax-payer is at a loss as the budget for the same has been increased six times.”
A local school teacher, Ancy T.P, told The Hindu , “It’s difficult to commute to school. The children also get exhausted.”
A traffic policeman told The Hindu , “We begin at 7.30 a.m. and go on till the wee hours of night. The area gets packed and blocked during peak hours especially after 6 p.m.” Meanwhile, the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation has put up a notice saying the new bridge will be functional soon.
The notice also says that the delay is due to non-remittance of a No Objection Certificate by a project engineer. An executive, Ajayan Nair, told The Hindu that, “The bridge narrows down to the middle causing hurdles. It’s a two-way road and we have no choice but to wait for traffic personnel to clear the traffic.” Raphael Devassy, a 43-year-old local businessman said, “The plight of the commuters worsens during the peak hours leading to congestion on other roads as well. I hope the authorities do something about it.”
