INAUGURATING THE 22-km Atal Setu, the country’s longest sea bridge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday that the bridge symbolised a developed India even as he took a swipe at the previous governments at the Centre, saying they failed to deliver on their promises.
“Atal Setu is the picture of developed India. This is a glimpse of what a developed India is going to be like,” the Prime Minister said during the inauguration
of the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, which has formally been named as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewari-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the newly-inaugurated Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (PTI Photo)
“In a developed India, there will be facilities for all, there will be prosperity for all, there will be speed and there will be progress. In developed India, distances will be reduced and every corner of the country will be connected. Be it life or livelihood, everything will go on continuously, without interruption. This is the message of Atal Setu,” he said.
The six-lane bridge, which will be thrown open to the public Saturday morning, connects Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Raigad district. It will enhance connectivity from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, Pune, Goa, and South India.
The Prime Minister travelled the entire length of the bridge from Mumbai to reach the site in Raigad district where the inaugural function was held.
Addressing the public gathering, he said, “Today is a historic day for Mumbai and Maharashtra. In line with the resolve for Viksit Bharat (developed India), today the nation has received Atal Setu, one of the longest sea bridges in the world.”
The Prime Minister thanked the government of Japan and remembered late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, stating that both had vowed to complete the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project.
While the project was initially conceptualised in the 1960s, and the first tender was floated in 2006, it was redrawn several times and underwent several unsuccessful project biddings. It was also caught in an acrimonious business dispute before work finally commenced in 2018, largely because of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which primarily funded the project.
Modi said that the completion of the sea bridge project highlighted the government’s efficient execution of infrastructure projects. He said that this was in contrast with the previous government’s slow pace of work and questionable intentions.
“Our ‘niyat’ (intention) is clean and ‘nishtha’ (commitment) is for the country’s progress and development. Whereas the previous government’s intention was to do vote bank politics and fill up their own coffers. Their commitment was to their family members and not to the country,” the Prime Minister said.
He also highlighted the problem of completion of large projects in the country.
“Earlier, people had no hope from the system, which had the habit of delaying the work for years. People thought that it was difficult for big projects to get completed while they were alive. This is why I assured that the country will change. This was a ‘Modi Guarantee’ back then,” he said. “Before the 2014 election, I had visited Raigad fort and had taken a few resolutions, Atal Setu was one of them. Ten years ago, there was talk of mega scams of thousands of crores, but now discussion is around mega projects worth thousands of crores.”
Taking a dig at the previous Congress government, Modi said that the Bandra Worli Sealink, although five times smaller than the Atal Setu, took almost a decade to complete.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde compared the Atal Setu to Ram Setu, stating that the way the Ram Setu destroyed the hubris of Ravana, the new bridge would destroy the arrogance of the Opposition.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis termed the inauguration of the sea bridge as success of “Modi Raj”. He highlighted the significance of the new bridge in enhancing the economy of Navi Mumbai and Raigad district, predicting a positive impact for the next 25 years.
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the proposed Orange Gate to Marine Drive tunnel project and inaugurated various key infrastructure projects, including the Digha Goan suburban station, Uran Kharkopar new suburban line, sixth line between Khar Road and Goregaon, Navi Mumbai Metro One, and the Surya regional drinking water project.