MTHL not beneficial for routine commuters, feel Navi Mumbaikars

Navi Mumbai

Even as there is a lot of excitement all across the social media about the Atal Setu bridge- the longest one in the country being inaugurated in Navi Mumbai, when it comes to actual travelling on a regular basis, not all Navi Mumbaikars are excited in the same way.

“The congestion on P D’Mello Road is unmanageable on the peak hours even now. With the Atal Setu bridge starting, the congestion will just increase. I would still prefer my old route of travel to South Bombay,” Sunil Agarwal, a Seawood resident said.

Another resident from Nerul who has to travel to South Bombay for work daily, says, “The route will not save time for me as I have to travel till Ulwe to even enter the bridge. By that time, I can reach near freeway. Moreover the monthly pass too is costly. I might consider taking pass for just one month to experience the journey.”

“The sea link is done fine. But not enough attention is paid to the point it touches down in Ulwe area. In present case, people will have to navigate out of Ulwe and go to other parts of Navi Mumbai. The entry from Seawoods to Ulwe is extremely deceptive. Its from below a flyover. You will easily miss the turn. Such an important node is developed, but the entrance is just not highlighted enough. There might be a bottleneck when the sealink opens up at Ulwe. They will have to make a flyover to take people out of Ulwe directly without navigating through it. Signals will have to be installed immediately within Ulwe at important junctions,” Manisha Gandhalikar, a Vashi resident said.

Another Seawood resident Yamini Singh who feels concerned about the environmental impact, said, “While this bridge will definitely cut down the traveling time, I wonder its impact on marine life and environment in general. Development is good, but it shouldn’t be mindless. India has a long way to go in terms of foreseeing long-term impacts while planning a developmental project. Silkyara tunnel collapse, for example, was a warning sign. Navi Mumbai’s air quality sinked due to extensive blastings at the airport construction site. These are things we cannot and should not be ignored. Sealink and Navi Mumbai International Airport are milestone projects, but I am left wondering if all the environmental, ecological and geographical impacts are considered.”

The bridge that starts from Ulwe node is more than 10 kilometres away from the prime residential areas of Navi Mumbai- Seawoods, Nerul, Sanpada and Vashi due to which the other node residents are not much looking forward to the bridge for routine travel but residents of Ulwe are excited about the importance and publicity Ulwe is finally receiving.

“Ulwe is finally on the fast track to progress with Atal Setu. Infrastructure is improving along with ease of commute. Reduction in travel time to South Bombay means there will be more interest in people wanting to stay in Ulwe. Naturally there’s lots of excitement and hope,” Vidya Guha, representative of Ulwe Bengali Welfare Trust said.

There are some residents who are waiting for the weekend to explore the bridge while some are skeptical about the traffic that would attract over the weekend just after the inauguration. With the news on the toll fare to be reconsidered by the government, some are hopeful about the same and have planned to wait for few days to see of the fare goes down to go for a joy ride.

A Koparkhairane resident Vineeta Punit, who has planned a ride on weekend said, “More than any of us, my 10 year old son Nived is looking forward to this joyride. He has been tracking the construction of MTHL and Coastal Road Project since ages. He has a lot of information about both projects too and is super excited to experience the MTHL vibe live when we drive that side over the coming weekend,” said Vineetha Punit