Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, who inspected the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Seva Atal Setu in Navi Mumbai on Friday alleged corruption in the construction.He also raised concerns over people’s safety.
Patole claimed that the construction quality of the bridge was poor and that a portion of the road has caved in by one foot.
Talking to reporters, Patole alleged that the state government has crossed all limits of corruption and put people’s lives at risk. “A portion of the Atal Setu bridge has developed cracks within three months of the inauguration and a half-a-kilometre-long stretch of the road near Navi Mumbai has caved in by a foot.
The state has spent Rs 18,000 crore for the MTHL,” he said. “The bridge has been named after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and yet the government indulged in corruption. This is very unfortunate,” he said. Patole also claimed that all environmental norms have been set aside for the Navi Mumbai International Airp
ort as mangroves have been destroyed.
The Maharashtra unit of Congress also took a dig at the BJP and said, “Rs 17,843 crores of public money sunk by Modi in the first rain.”
However, the ruling BJP as well as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is the nodal agency for the project, said that the cracks were not on the bridge itself but on the approach road from Ulwe in Navi Mumbai.
“Stop defaming Atal Setu,” the BJP Maharashtra said in a post on X.
“It is clear that the cracks in the road seen in the photo are not on the Atal Setu. Because these cracks were on the ground road leading to Atal Setu. The repair work has been started immediately and that work has also been completed,” the post originally in Marathi read.
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also hit out at Congress saying, “There is no crack on Atal Setu, Nor is there any danger to Atal Setu. This picture is of the approach road. But one thing is clear that the Congress party has made a long term plan to create “crack” with the help of lies. Talk of changing the constitution during elections, unlocking EVMs through phone after elections and now such false talks… Only the people of the country will defeat this ‘Daar’ plan and the corrupt behavior of Congress…
Meanwhile, the MMRDA issued a statement saying, “There have been rumours circulating about cracks on the MTHL bridge. We want to clarify that these cracks are not on the bridge itself but on the approach road connecting the MTHL from Ulwe towards Mumbai.” During an inspection by the Operation and Maintenance team on June 20, 2024, minor cracks were found on the road surface near the edges at three locations on Ramp 5 (the ramp towards Mumbai), it said.
“These cracks are minor and are located along the edge of the road. It is important to note that these cracks are not due to any structural defects. They are minor longitudinal cracks in the asphalt pavement, which can be effectively repaired without impacting the life or performance of the pavement,” it said. The contractor has already commenced the repair work, which will be completed within 24 hours. This work is being carried out without causing any disruption to traffic, the agency added.
Atal Setu — India’s longest sea bridge
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January inaugurated the Rs 17,840 crore Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, the longest bridge as well as the longest sea bridge in the country connecting south Mumbai with Nhava-Sheva in Navi Mumbai.
The toll for passenger vehicles for the entire 21.8km sea bridge is set at Rs 250.
The bridge also incorporates open road tolling system which uses electronic toll collection technology to automatically collect tolls from vehicles without the need for them to stop — essentially helping in reducing traffic congestion at toll booths.
The bridge also has base isolation bearings that act as shock absorbers, allowing the bridge to move slightly during an earthquake without collapsing. This design is said to withstand tremors up to 6.5 on the Richter scale.
