12 MNS activists detained over Mumbai-Goa highway protests

Navi Mumbai

Twelve Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activists were detained on Friday when they arrived at the regionsl office of National Highway Authority of India (MHAI) office in Panvel to submit a memorandum condemning the delay in completion of the 84-km Mumbai-Goa highway.

“We were conducting our agitation peacefully and still there were huge police deployed. We wanted to hand over our demands with the authority but that was not allowed. Instead party workers were taken in custody by the police. we will continue with the agitation as directed by the party chief to get the work completed at the earliest,” said a party worker taken into custody.

The MNS activists also staged protests at the intersection leading to the highway and planted saplings in potholes on the road to protest against the poor condition of the road.

“More than a decade has gone into the concretization work of this highway and still there is a lot of work pending. On the contrary, the work on Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway, also known as Samruddhi Marg, was constructed in just four years. Due to the bad condition, there have been numerous life-threatening accidents and none of the families were even compensated. We want the work on this stretch to be completed before Ganpati festival. The authorities failing to get the project completed will have to face the consequence,” said party spokesperson Yogesh Chile.

During a party gathering held in Panvel on August 16, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had given a call for protests against the tardy implementation of Mumbai-Goa highway. The concretisation and eight laning of the highway started 16 years ago.

Officials from the NHAI regional office said that the project is nearing completion. “In 2021, the contractor earlier assigned to do the project was terminated due to the failure to complete the work despite multiple extensions as well as financial aid. This led to dispute and arbitration which concluded recently with orders favoring NHAI. Now that there are no litigations to be dealt with, fresh tender bids were called and accordingly the work has recommenced. Of the 84 km highway, 22 km of work is already completed. We are working towards getting the remaining 42 Km work from Panvel to Kaso to be completed before Ganpati festival or at the most by March 2024,” said a senior official.