Locals oppose demolition of temporary road built for Kharghar ceremony

An official from CIDCO said that the Public Works Department (PWD) asked them to construct the makeshift road before the function and they are now asking to demolish it.

Navi Mumbai: The residents of Kharghar are opposing the demolition of a makeshift road over Kopra nullah which was constructed within a day to facilitate people’s entry at the venue for the Maharashtra Bhushan awards ceremony held on April 16.

Kaushal Sharma, another Kharghar Forum member and a resident of sector 16, explains the rationale for a permanent wider bridge. “There is a very old Kopra bridge that stands on an iron pillar in the same area, which has only a single lane for motorists. Many years ago, another single-lane bridge was constructed on 21 pipelines so that the water flowing from Pandavkada waterfall during the monsoon can pass through easily. This bridge again has a capacity of only a single lane. Hence, the residents use the old bridge for entering the highway from Kharghar and the second bridge for entering Kharghar from the highway.” (Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO))

The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) constructed the temporary structure to make it easy for the crowd to reach Appasaheb Dharmadhikari’s felicitation ceremony, however, they have now been instructed to demolish the bridge.

As per the residents, the road eases commuting from Kharghar to the Sion-Panvel highway.

“Kharghar’s main entry and exit point is the Hiranandani point which always has heavy traffic. The node requires an alternate option for entry and exit to the highway. For years, we have been demanding a permanent solution to the problem by constructing a wide bridge at Kopra. The road is built now but it is temporary. The CIDCO officials had come to demolish the bridge two days ago and shut down the traffic movement. That is when we were alerted and reached the spot to stop the demolition,” said Kharghar Forum chairperson Leena Garad.

The temporary set up has a tarred road which can stay intact for around three months, Garad said, adding, “It will get washed out during the monsoon and CIDCO needs to construct a permanent structure before that. However, till the time they don’t start the procedure of building a permanent one, we won’t allow them to demolish this structure.”

Meanwhile, an official from CIDCO said that the Public Works Department (PWD) asked them to construct the makeshift road before the function and they are now asking to demolish it. “It is not safe for people to use that road for a long time and it should be demolished soon. The good news is that in our plan, we do have a permanent bridge at the same spot which would be constructed in some time,” the officer added.

Kaushal Sharma, another Kharghar Forum member and a resident of sector 16, explains the rationale for a permanent wider bridge. “There is a very old Kopra bridge that stands on an iron pillar in the same area, which has only a single lane for motorists. Many years ago, another single-lane bridge was constructed on 21 pipelines so that the water flowing from Pandavkada waterfall during the monsoon can pass through easily. This bridge again has a capacity of only a single lane. Hence, the residents use the old bridge for entering the highway from Kharghar and the second bridge for entering Kharghar from the highway.”

The highway has three lanes for vehicles and when it takes a turn to use the Kopra bridges, it can accommodate only single-lane traffic at a time, he said, adding, “This is causing a huge traffic jam at the entry points of the bridge. Both the bridge and the temporary road are not fit to take heavy traffic and hence a demand for having a wider string bridge which can accommodate four lanes of vehicles at a time.”