After being shut for 5 years, Delisle Bridge to open fully today

After a five-year wait, the Delisle Bridge in Mumbai will officially open on Thursday, providing relief to South Mumbai-bound commuters. Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray, who faced charges for the "unauthorised" inauguration of the bridge, has been invited by the civic body for the event. The reopening of the bridge is crucial for pedestrians and commuters heading to commercial complexes in Lower Parel. The bridge, which has been closed since 2018, will have three lanes in each direction and additional staircases and escalators for smoother pedestrian movement.

Mumbai: After a five-year-long wait, Delisle Bridge will officially open up fully on Thursday and finally put an end to the woes of South Mumbai-bound commuters. Shiv Sena UBT MLA Aaditya Thackeray, against whom the BMC registered an FIR for “unauthorised” inauguration of the bridge last week, has nevertheless been invited by the civic body for the inauguration.

Mumbai, India - Nov. 22, 2023: The much controversial Delisle Bridge in Mumbai's Lower Parel will be opened up fully to motorists on Thursday in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

In his post on X, Thackeray had said, ‘Inauguration of Delisle Bridge. Don’t want VIPs from Khoke Sarkar while the public is suffering.’ His “illegal” opening of the bridge was quickly shut down by the BMC on November 17, followed by a case registered against him.

Civic chief and administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal had directed the BMC’s bridges department to speed up work, and the entire team worked on a war footing to add the finishing touches. The three lanes in each direction on Delisle Bridge on N M Joshi Marg and two lanes on Ganpatrao Kadam Marg will facilitate smooth traffic. Four new staircases will be constructed for the new bridge and two escalators will be added. Due to the increase in the width of the service roads and the free space under the bridge, the movement of pedestrians will be smoother.

The reopening of Delisle bridge is crucial, as it is a vital link for pedestrians and commuters headed for numerous commercial and office complexes in Lower Parel, including Kamala Mills Compound and High Street Phoenix. Since its closure in July 2018, the absence of this crucial connector has caused much hardship to locals and office-goers.

On June 1, the portion of the bridge connecting G K Marg with N M Joshi Marg was reopened. On September 18, one arm of the part connecting Lower Parel to Currey Road was reopened even as work continued on the other arm. The entire bridge will now be opened to traffic from November 23.

The BMC will inaugurate the approach roads of Delisle Bridge at Lower Parel on N M Joshi Marg and Ganpatrao Kadam Marg at the hands of Mumbai city district guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar and Mumbai suburban guardian minister MP Lodha. MLAs Ashish Shelar, Sunil Shinde, Rajhans Singh and local MP Arvind Sawant have also been invited for the bhumi poojan.

On Thursday evening, Aaditya Thackeray once again tweeted about the bridge. ‘Open up the Delisle Road Bridge that has been ready since 15 days,’ went the tweet. ‘It is only waiting for you to satisfy the egos of the ministers of the khoke sarkar. We opened it once for people and you have pressed charges against us for serving Mumbai. You may want to hang us for standing for Maharashtra, from those occupying government unconditionally and looting our state. Even if you want to inaugurate it tomorrow, please do. But open it up now. We promise we don’t want credit unlike the ministers of the illegal regime. Only the ministers will make the people suffer for their own moments of being on banners and stage. But we will investigate why the administrator/ BMC Municipal Commissioner has delayed this inauguration, very soon. And your road scam and street furniture scam too.’ (sic)