What's In A Name? Demand For Naming Bandra-Versova Sea Link After Savarkar And MTHL After Vajpayee

Close on the heels of the under-construction Mumbai Coastal Road being named after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, demands have been made requesting names for the two other key infrastructure projects in the city.

Immediately after the announcement rewarding the Mumbai Coastal Road came, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in a tweet shared a letter he had written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday (16 March), requesting names for the three key infrastructure projects.

Requesting that the Mumbai Coastal Road be named after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the letter further requested to name Bandra-Versova Sea link after freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and the Mumbai Trans Harbor Link (MTHL) after former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The copy of the letter shared by the Deputy CM read, “Many important infrastructure works are going on in the state and it is important to name it after great personalities of equally exemplary personalities. As these developmental works are consistently recognised as public amenities, the coming generations should remember the ideals of our great men and nobles… that is the role behind these demands”.

“I hope that you will take prompt decisions on these demands so that future generations may continue to be inspired by the work of heroes of the state,” he added.

MTHL - India’s Longest Sea Bridge

Financed by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), MTHL Bridge is an under-construction 22-km-long six-lane marine road bridge implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

The project consists of sea crossing section of around 16.5 km and land section of remaining 5.5 km.

The link has interchanges at Sewri in Central Mumbai, Shivaji Nagar at Mumbai Bay and NH-4 B at Chirle, Navi Mumbai.

Popularly known as the Sewri Nhava Sheva Harbour Link, the sea link connects Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Navi Mumbai, thereby, reducing the travel time between South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to just 20 minutes from the present two hours.

The mega project is expected to mitigate traffic congestion in the island city and promote economic development in Navi Mumbai and greater economic integration of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and their extended regions such as Pune, Goa, Panvel and Alibaug.

The overall progress on the project is now 93 per cent, with the authorities targeting December 2023 opening. The bridge, when completed, would be the longest sea bridge in India and would cater to 70,000 vehicles daily.

Versova Bandra Sea Link Project (VBSL)

The Versova-Bandra Sea Link Project (VBSL) comprises construction of a sea link bridge along the West coast of Mumbai from Bandra (on South side) at Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) to Versova at Nana Nani Park (on North side).

The length of the sea link is 9.6 km with four dispersal points at Bandra Connector, Carter Road Connector, Juhu Koliwada Connector and Nana Nani Park Connector. The sea link will have 4+4 lanes on both the sides with tolling facilities. The connectors will have a length of 1.17 km at Bandra, 1.8 km at Carter Road, 2.8 km at Juhu Koliwada and 1.8 km at Nana Nani Park.

VBSL is a marquee project with a length of 17.17 km, which is three times the length of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link of 5.6 km. The state government has appointed the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) as the nodal agency for the implementation of the VBSL project.

The Rs 7,000-crore project was expected to be ready by 2023, which has now been revised to December 2026.