Days after the civic body filed an FIR against MLA Aaditya Thackeray and other Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders for “illegally inaugurating” the second carriageway of Lower Parel’s Delisle Bridge, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is slated to officially inaugurate the bridge on Thursday. While the bridge will be inaugurated by City Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar, civic officials said Aaditya has also been invited to the event among other leaders.
The bridge, which was closed in 2017, will provide much-needed connections towards Lower Parel and Ganpatrao Kadam Marg in both directions, speeding up traffic towards south Mumbai and easing congestion on the route.The BMC also plans to construct four new staircases and add two escalators for the bridge soon, said an official.Last week, the bridge ran into a political fracas after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aditya Thackeray, MLAs Sachin Ahir and Shinde, plus two former Mayors, Kishori Pednekar and Snehal Ambekar, were booked by the Mumbai Police for allegedly performing an ‘illegal inauguration’ of the bridge.On Tuesday, Thackeray pleaded with the civic authorities to throw the bridge open for traffic as it is ready since nearly a fortnight and was allegedly being delayed as VIPs were not available for the inauguration, and to "satisfy the ego" of the current state government.