Mumbai Bridge Naming Row Intensifies
Shiv Sena (UBT) wants the Vidyavihar bridge named after Nana Patekar, while BJP MLA Parag Shah has proposed honouring Captain Smit Machchhar.
- Sena (UBT) proposes naming bridge after Nana Patekar
- BJP MLA Parag Shah backs Captain Smit Machchhar
- BMC leader questions political motives behind demand
- 650-metre bridge connects both sides of Vidyavihar
GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 17th Oct: A political dispute has erupted over the proposed name of Mumbai’s newly constructed East-West Vidyavihar bridge ahead of its opening to traffic. Shiv Sena (UBT) activists have demanded that the structure be named after actor Nana Patekar, days after BJP MLA Parag Shah proposed naming it after Captain Smit Machchhar.
The Sena (UBT) put up a banner on the bridge demanding that it be called ‘Padma Shri Nana Patekar Setu’. Earlier this week, a party delegation met Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde and submitted a letter seeking the actor’s name for the structure.
Shah, meanwhile, had written to the authorities requesting that the bridge be named after Captain Machchhar, an Indian commercial pilot praised for thwarting a violent mid-air hijacking attempt involving a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv.
The competing proposals have sparked a debate over whom the infrastructure project should honour. Ganesh Khankar, leader of the house in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), accused the Sena (UBT) of creating a controversy to claim credit. He said Patekar, widely recognised for his acting, would be better honoured through a large theatre or theatre complex.
The 650-metre-long, two-lane bridge has faced delays in construction. It connects Ramchandra Chemburkar Marg on the eastern side of Vidyavihar railway station with Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg on the western side in Ghatkopar.
According to the BMC, the project includes a 100-metre section over railway tracks, along with approach roads measuring 220 metres on the eastern side and 330 metres on the western side. It also includes access links to station footpaths and the reconstruction of ticket booking offices, the station master’s office and staircases.
With the bridge nearing its opening, the final naming decision remains a point of contention between the rival political camps.
