Sea view, not sea link: Yoga enthusiasts file PIL to protect their view

MUMBAI: Three Andheri residents, all of them seniors, are rooting for an undersea Versova-Bandra Sea Link (VBSL) because an elevated bridge would ruin the view during their beachfront aerobic and yoga sessions at Juhu.

To this end, the residents have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court, adding that an elevated bridge would further elevate air pollution levels.

“We do yoga on Juhu beach, along with lakhs of others, who come here for a morning walk and some fresh air. If a sea bridge is built, vehicles will spoil our view and pollute the air,” Himanshu Mehta, one of the petitioners, told the media on Tuesday.

The PIL, which is yet to come up for hearing, is seeking the construction of an underwater tunnel based on the early plans drawn up by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the nodal agency for the project.

In the early stages of planning, five routes had been proposed, according to information revealed by a Right to Information (RTI) application. They are: a coastal road on reclaimed land with a cut-and-cover tunnel at Juhu beach; a coastal road on stilts with a cut-and-cover tunnel at Juhu beach; a sea link partially located 200 metres from the coast up to Khar-Danda and partially along the coast with a cut-and -cover tunnel at Juhu beach; an elevated sea link entirely in the sea, 900 metres from the coast; and a coastal road on reclaimed land up to Bandstand in Bandra, followed by a sea link extending to Versova. “We did not get any response via RTI about the merits and demerits of each option and on what basis the current design has been chosen,” said Ummed Nahata, another petitioner.

The 17.17-km Versova-Bandra Sea Link is part of Mumbai’s Coastal Road that will eventually link Marine Drive with Kandivali. It will connect the Bandra end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link with the Nana-Nani Park in Versova, and include interchanges at Carter Road in Bandra and Juhu.

An official with MSRDC said 28% of the work is complete. “The sea link has been in the planning stage since 2011. Over the years, we have had to sort out several issues and, finally, the project has picked up after all clearances have been received,” he said.

Would MSRDC consider revising its plans to humour three yoga enthusiasts who can’t bear the thought of a sea bridge stretching across their sunrise? “We have started from Bandra as an elevated structure. Changing the design at this stage and creating a tunnel is near-impossible,” said the MSRDC official. “Further the rock strata at Juhu is hard, so building a tunnel there would mean additional costs.”

For good measure, he added, “The sea link will be beautified with illumination and facade lighting.”