Maharashtra environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, who visited the work of girder launching for the new Patripool rail overbridge (ROB) on Saturday, said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has taken up several such developmental works across the state.
“Patripool has been a major issue however now the work has been initiated after the mega blocks was permitted by the railway. Similarly, several such developmental works are undertaken across the state by the MVA,” said Aaditya Thackeray.
Slamming the opposition party on developmental works he said, “Politics is a part of everything. Politics, for us, is only during the elections after which we focus on work. Other parties continue doing politics throughout.”
While Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde has been taking all the credits for the work of the Patripool bridge through his social media handles, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have been slamming the state government and Shinde for delaying the project. In March 2020, BJP party workers had staged a protest targeting the Shiv Sena for delaying the work.
The 104-year-old Patripool bridge was dismantled on November 18, 2018, following which there has been a demand to build the new bridge as it affected the traffic movement in Kalyan-Dombivli.
“It is a very big day for the entire Kalyan-Dombivli city as the launching of girder is carried out. When the bridge was dismantled two years back it was done in emergency considering the safety of the commuters as it was declared dangerous,” said Shinde.
“The planning and procedure for the new bridge was initiated after the bridge was dismantled. This took time as we had to plan from the beginning and also redesign the plan due to the hurdles caused by a gutter. We had to get permissions from the railways and local body. After that, the lockdown affected the work as workers were not available. However, we managed to speed up the work and now it is in its final stage,” added Shinde.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLA Raju Patil, who reached the spot, was not allowed by the police.
“I reached the spot to have a look at the girder launching work. Police thought we arrived for a protest at the site. They were doing their duty for law and order. I wanted to meet the civic commissioner. If we are protesting, we intimate about it in advance.”
The launch work of the 76-meter-long girder will continue tomorrow. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has claimed to make the new two-lane bridge ready by December end for the commuters.
Source: Hindustan Times
