It is one of the most-awaited projects of Mumbai, but something or the other has been going wrong for the Bandra Worli Sea Link. Shashank Rao analyses three of the latest problems...
It is one of the most-awaited projects of Mumbai, but something or the other has been going wrong for the Bandra Worli Sea Link. Shashank Rao analyses three of the latest problems...
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The 26/11 terror attacks were enough to pitch for a terror insurance cover for this infrastructure marvel. There is a difference of opinion betwe-en the contractor, Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), and MSRDC over the Rs 6 crore that HCC has demanded as payment towards the insurance.
An MSRDC official said, "Terror cover was not part of our contract with HCC. "
HCC's D K Sharma, the chief engineer of BWSL, said, "We are asking for payments that are rightfully ours." HCC has claimed a total of Rs 75 crore as pending dues.
They have claimed that the project can't be completed till these payments are
made.
End of the road
The Hindustan Construction Company and the MSRDC are also arguing over the quality of roads on the sea link.
The HCC has used bitumen, which is usually used on airport runways and apparently has a life span of 10 years.
But, an MSRDC official pointed out, "HCC has promised us that the roads will last for five years. This way, they can escape the headache of maintaining and repairing the road when it gets damaged."
However, HCC states that the roads on the sea link will have a short life due to the heavy traffic.
Car chaos
Two mini flyovers, or 500 m car-decks, had been planned at the Worli end to ease traffic on the sea link.
However, there was a delay in calling tenders for these flyovers and this has resulted in the initial cost of construction Rs 15 crore per mini flyover increasing by 15 per cent.
"We are discussing ways to bring down the price," said an official from MSRDC. One flyover will touch
R G Thadani Marg, while the other flyover will be constructed on the other side touching Prateeksha building.
This delay will create problems for nearly 1.40 lakh passenger car units expected to travel on the BWSL.
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