Road development corp defers demolition of Halav Pul again

“We had got all the permissions but the local people want the demolition to happen only after Navratri,” an MSRDC official said.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA),the nodal agency for the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) had obtained the demolition orders five months ago.

“MMRDA had also given the money for the demolition but first the MSRDC said they can’t go ahead with the work because of the rainy season,which was fair,then they cited the Ganpati festival,now they are pushing it ahead for the Navratri festival,” Additional Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas said. “There is no end to this. It’s a very small thing but it’s very important for the SCLR and the LBS flyover too.”

Once the bridge is demolished,the LBS flyover,which is about 90 per cent complete,can be opened to the public.

The only work left on LBS flyover is the granular filling and the tarring after which the six-lane flyover could be commissioned before the year end,said the MSRDC official.

“The Halav Pul,once demolished,will enable smooth flow of traffic that comes from the LBS flyover,” the official added.

The LBS flyover,part of the larger Santacruz-Chembur Link Road,is a 527-metre long flyover over the LBS junction. The flyover runs through the CST Road from Kismat Nagar in Kurla (west) right up to the Halav Pul.

Currently,it takes almost half an hour to 40 minutes to drive on the road at any time of the day. The flyover will cut the travel time by 15-20 minutes,Srinivas said.