Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday inspected the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) to ensure that the inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 12 goes off smoothly. Declaring that the country’s longest sea bridge was a “game changer”, he added that the inauguration by Modi was not pre-election trumpeting.
Speaking to media personnel at the end of the inspection, Shinde said that Modi would inaugurate the bridge by travelling on the entire route and then make his address at the airport site. “Apart from MTHL, he will also inaugurate several other Mumbai and MMRDA projects remotely,” he said. “We have hence checked it all today, taking a close look at the roads along the bridge, the boundary walls, the median and so on.”
Shinde claimed the project would bring “huge relief” to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Raigad residents. “Where the existing road takes 1.5 to two hours, the MTHL will take only 15 to 20 minutes from Mumbai to Chirle and from there to the Mumbai-Pune e-way, Mumbai-Goa highway or to the Virar-Alibaug multimodal corridor,” he said. “It will save immense time and fuel and curb pollution. It will also give a boost to ‘Third Mumbai’, the new city planned in the region. We are witnessing a game changer.”
Claiming that the link was environment-friendly, Shinde said, “We have been very particular about the environmental impact. Fears were expressed that the migratory flamingos would no longer come to the Sewri mudflats. We thus used modern technology to ensure a balance between infrastructure development and Nature—state-of-the-art reverse circulation drill, a protection wall and a noise barrier which has, in fact, increased flamingo arrivals.” The CM insisted that Modi’s visit was not related to the polls. “He performed the bhoomi poojan, now he will inaugurate the bridge as well,” he said. “He comes to inaugurate projects even when there are no elections.