Ajit Pawar skips Mumbai Coastal Road inauguration

Maharashtra Chief Minister CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis attended the inauguration of one of the two arch bridges connecting the Mumbai Coastal Road and the Bandra Worli Sea Link BWSL The other connector mdash the last part of the southbound arm of the Mumbai Coastal Road mdash may take three to four more months to be completedAjit Pawar who is also a deputy CM however skipped the event leading to speculations in the political circles When asked about Pawars absence Fadnavis said his cabinet colleague was busy at another event and there is no other reason for him missing the eventThere is no issue Dada is at another event He spoke to me and the Chief Minister earlier and informed us not to worry He said he will be taking this road soon clarified Fadnavis when reporters asked him over Pawars absenceThis is not the first time when Pawar had skipped an event with Shinde and Fadnavis Last month when CM Shinde and Fadnavis visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur Pawars conspicuous absence had led to speculations in the political circlesCoastal Road to relieve traffic congestion CM Eknath ShindeThe Dharmveer Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road will ease the traffic congestion in South Mumbai and save time fuel and reduce noise and air pollution said CM Eknath Shinde adding that the Maharashtra government is trying to make Mumbai pollutionfree and free of traffic jams along with the development of roads and bridgesBesides CM Shinde and his deputy Fadnavis Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar Mumbai Suburban Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha legislator Sadanand Sarvankar Additional Chief Secretary Home Iqbal Singh Chahal Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani and Additional Municipal Commissioner Eastern Suburbs Dr Amit Shah was also present for the inaugurationMumbai is a city of international standards and thousands of tourists come here from all over the country and world Mumbai is developing at a fast pace In the next two years all roads in Mumbai will be made of cement concrete after which Mumbaikars will experience potholefree travel The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations is conducting an intensive cleanliness drive This campaign has been beneficial in reducing pollution also The KoliAgri brothers are originally from Mumbai Considering their demands seriously the coastal road project is being expedited said CM Shinde while speaking to the media during the inauguration ceremonyDeputy CM Fadnavis said The municipal corporation deserves praise for the coastal road So far 92 per cent of the work has been completed and the remaining work will be completed soonThe northbound Chowpatty to WorliBandra traffic will commence from the southbound 827 m bridge connecting BandraWorli Sea Bridge making it possible to travel directly from Shamaldas Gandhi Marg Princess Street to Bandra in the north direction The bridge will be available for single northbound traffic from 7 am on Friday It will be operational from 7 am to 11 pm every week from Monday to Friday Traffic will be closed for two days on Saturday and Sunday to complete the remaining work of the project BMC saidCoastal Road to have twin underground tunnelsThe first beam bow arch string girder connecting Mumbai coastal road and BandraWorli sea bridge was installed on April 26 while the second beam on the approach road to BandraWorli Sea Bridge was installed on May 15The 1058kilometre Mumbai Coastal Road includes infill roads bridges elevated roads as well as interchanges at Amarsons Haji Ali and Worli Also two separate underground twin tunnels of 2 km length each have been constructed for manning traffic One tunnel will have six lanes while the other eight These tunnels have the stateoftheart Saccardo ventilation system which is being used for the first time in India There are also a total of 10 intersecting tunnels connecting the two tunnels as an emergency measure The project is spread over 70 acres of land