Members of Koli community first to travel through high-speed coastal road

Both the interchange and the bridge are being built on pillars, and the locals demanded that the navigational span (gap) between the two pillars should be at least 200 metres, while the BMC initially proposed that the maximum gap between the pillars would be 60 metres.

However, since the two parties failed to reach a common ground, a large number of members from the fishing community went on a flash strike in October 2021 that led to the stoppage of the work. Since then, the authorities weren’t able to carry out full-fledged construction works at this part of the project and in January 2023, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced that the gap between the pillars would be increased to 120 metres and the BMC proposed a new design for the connecting bridge that would merge the coastal road with BWSL.

The members of the community also took part in the flagging off ceremony with CM Shinde and DCMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

“In Mumbai, Worli has the most volatile sea since it has a rocky sea bed and the waters are shallow but the currents are usually stronger. Therefore, if there is not adequate space given to us for navigating our boats between the pillars, then accidents could happen with torrents pushing us to hit the rocks,” Nitesh Patil, secretary of the Worli Naqwa Society told Express on Monday.

The members of the community also took part in the flagging off ceremony with CM Shinde and DCMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

“The point is our community was never against this project, we understand how seamless travel is important for Mumbaikars and we only wanted the gaps between the pillars to have increased for our safety,” Patil said.

The enthusiasm of the local fishing community, who took part in the bus-ride was vivid on Monday. All the men and women were seen dressed in their traditional attires comprising Surkhas, Topis, Sarees and Nathni.

Bhavana Worlikar, one of the women who was a part of the BEST bus ride on Monday told Express, “The whole experience of being the first people to ride on the coastal road was amazing and we also really enjoyed the entire route in the double-decker bus. Today, we as a community feel proud that after a long period of struggle not only our demands were met, but also the authorities paid tribute to our community.”

Reenali Worlikar, a resident of Worli Koliwada, told Express that in anticipation of the inauguration, the members of the Koli community decided to keep the markets shut on Monday. “In a meeting that was conducted on Sunday, we decided to keep our fish markets closed today.”

“I was present in one of the single decker buses, during the inaugural ride and all the people from our village who had joined in, enjoyed the whole experience,” added Reenali.

Meanwhile, the BMC had also carried out a survey of fisherfolk to compensate them for the loss of livelihood during the construction of the coastal road. The compensation was given to them since fishing activities weren’t possible since 2020, when actual construction work started.

The BMC had earmarked Rs 136 crore budget for compensating the fisherfolk and so far, officials said, that 500 people have received payment amounting to Rs 36 crore.

“The money is being transferred to the bank accounts directly and a bulk transfer of 250 accounts is being made at a time. So far, two batches have received their payments and in total around 1,300 fisherfolk will get the money,” the official said.