Mumbai's new "monument" has finally been commissioned. Our media has rightly exalted the Bandra-Worli Sea Link as 'Mumbai's new monument'. One news channel in particular played a collage of Mumbai's other landmarks - Gateway of India, Taj Hotel, CST, the BSE - before zooming in on the BWSL. The media has got it spot on!.. even if they might not be aware of it. Let me explain. Note that there are two essential requirements for any structure to classify as a monument. One, it has to be a stand-out, unique feature in the skyline of the city. And two, it has to be old. This project fulfills both criteria. The fact that it took almost a decade helps it in meeting, or even overtaking, the second criterion.
Spanning over 5 km in length and 10 years in delays, this "engineering marvel" cost over four times its original estimate! What's particularly frustrating is that India's longest sea-link was not built on a Concession model (PPP) but wholly paid through Govt. grants and market borrowings by the MSRDC. The fact that communist China built seven such bridges, one of which is 32 km long in the same period, doesn't seem to deter Mumbaikars (or our patriotic media) from pagan celebrations. We might be the only nation who gets carried away with the "flow" so much that we turn oblivious to the many embarrassments associated with this project. One after another, newspapers today carried eulogies on the project that dragged so painfully slow that it was once touted a 'white elephant'. There were full page articles and ads sponsored by companies involved in the project "thanking" MSRDC and patting each other on their backs.
Very little coverage was given to the blunders. The project, as environmentalists and urban planning experts have pointed out, will have adverse externalities and will probably defeat its traffic easing purpose. On the environment front, the exit of the Mithi will get slightly narrowed due to the bridge's piers, thus increasing chances of water level rising dangerously high in the river. Besides, since the flyovers at the Worli side, where the bridge descends, have not been constructed, one can expect major congestion at the Worli end. A fire-fighting measure being adopted is that the traffic dispersal at Worli will be changed. This is bound to cause confusion among motorists as some routes will be permitted only during certain hours. Bandra too will have its share of traffic snarls as mentioned in this article. Besides this, the impact on the Worli Koliwada fishermen will only be known in the coming years.
Today, after three frustrating postponements, our benevolent leaders have at long last obliged and descended from their upper echelons in Nayi Dilli to inaugurate the much hyped phase I of the Western Freeway Sea Link. That the State elections are only months away makes this ribbon-cutting rank fairly high in opportunism. Yesterday night, on the auspicious time (8.10 pm) a fireworks and laser show from the BWSL. This extravagant show itself cost Rs. 9 crore! Guess MSRDC thought that after being duped of 1650 crore already it might as well throw in a little more for the galleries. The project involves numerous CCTVs at frequent intervals along its stretch and in the Toll Plaza. This is yet another example of misplaced priorities given that hardly any of Toll Plazas in Mumbai's five entry points have this surveillance facility!
All said, nothing can however stop our junta from flooding Twitter or Orkut and Facebook communities with patriotic zeal. Shortcomings aside, we'd rather concentrate on such mediocre pleasures.
P.S: Here's an excerpt from an interview of E. Sreedharan (Delhi Metro) by Reuters on 3rd July, '09:
Spanning over 5 km in length and 10 years in delays, this "engineering marvel" cost over four times its original estimate! What's particularly frustrating is that India's longest sea-link was not built on a Concession model (PPP) but wholly paid through Govt. grants and market borrowings by the MSRDC. The fact that communist China built seven such bridges, one of which is 32 km long in the same period, doesn't seem to deter Mumbaikars (or our patriotic media) from pagan celebrations. We might be the only nation who gets carried away with the "flow" so much that we turn oblivious to the many embarrassments associated with this project. One after another, newspapers today carried eulogies on the project that dragged so painfully slow that it was once touted a 'white elephant'. There were full page articles and ads sponsored by companies involved in the project "thanking" MSRDC and patting each other on their backs.
Very little coverage was given to the blunders. The project, as environmentalists and urban planning experts have pointed out, will have adverse externalities and will probably defeat its traffic easing purpose. On the environment front, the exit of the Mithi will get slightly narrowed due to the bridge's piers, thus increasing chances of water level rising dangerously high in the river. Besides, since the flyovers at the Worli side, where the bridge descends, have not been constructed, one can expect major congestion at the Worli end. A fire-fighting measure being adopted is that the traffic dispersal at Worli will be changed. This is bound to cause confusion among motorists as some routes will be permitted only during certain hours. Bandra too will have its share of traffic snarls as mentioned in this article. Besides this, the impact on the Worli Koliwada fishermen will only be known in the coming years.
Today, after three frustrating postponements, our benevolent leaders have at long last obliged and descended from their upper echelons in Nayi Dilli to inaugurate the much hyped phase I of the Western Freeway Sea Link. That the State elections are only months away makes this ribbon-cutting rank fairly high in opportunism. Yesterday night, on the auspicious time (8.10 pm) a fireworks and laser show from the BWSL. This extravagant show itself cost Rs. 9 crore! Guess MSRDC thought that after being duped of 1650 crore already it might as well throw in a little more for the galleries. The project involves numerous CCTVs at frequent intervals along its stretch and in the Toll Plaza. This is yet another example of misplaced priorities given that hardly any of Toll Plazas in Mumbai's five entry points have this surveillance facility!
All said, nothing can however stop our junta from flooding Twitter or Orkut and Facebook communities with patriotic zeal. Shortcomings aside, we'd rather concentrate on such mediocre pleasures.
P.S: Here's an excerpt from an interview of E. Sreedharan (Delhi Metro) by Reuters on 3rd July, '09:
'Despite the Delhi metro's success, Sreedharan said India lags far behind Asia's other emerging economic giant, China, in fast implementation, often because of New Delhi's short-sighted planning, a lack of political will and government interference.
"That vision or determination that things should move fast, that's not available in our country,"...."Unfortunately what is happening is that everybody wants to control things. Nobody wants to take responsibility."
