Madh-Versova cable bridge gets coastal authority’s green flag

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The ambitious cable-stayed bridge project of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which will connect Versova with Madh Island in western suburbs received final go-ahead from Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA).

There are no roads that directly connect the two spots and are separated by Versova creek, an inlet into the Arabian Sea.

The only mode of direct public transport is a ferry service, which also remains non-operational for four months during monsoon. Besides this, the only available mode of commute is a 22-km route between Madh Island and Versova via Western Express Highway (WEH) or SV Road.

BMC has said that once this bridge is operational, travel time between the two places will come down to 7- 10 minutes.

The blueprint of this project was finalized in 2020. However, since the road passes through a dense mangrove cover and coastal regulatory zone, the civic body re- quired clearances from MCZMA.

Earlier in 2022, MCZMA had asked BMC to find an alternate alignment for this bridge, to ensure minimum damage to the mangroves. The project faced opposition from the VersovaMadh fishing community which said that the proposed bridge would cause inconvenience in parking their boats.