As the work of Coastal Road project is going on in full swing, the Worli Koliwada Nakhawa Matsya Vyvsay Sahkari Society has urged Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray to stop the reclamation work at Worli sea face as it is affecting their livelihood.
They stated that the reclamation work should stop till the Supreme Court gives its final judgement. The fishermen have suggested that the road be supported on stilts, instead of the authorities pressing ahead with reclamation at Worli seaface, to minimise damage to active fishing zones.
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Last month the fishermen had also written a letter to Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray and requested them for a meeting to discuss the damage caused by reclamation for the Coastal Road. However, the meeting has not happened till date.
The project has not only caused inconvenience to the fishermen community but also to the residents of Bhulabhai Desai Road. Earlier this week, when the residents were at Tata Garden for their regular morning walk, they saw notices on trees that around 140 trees will be cut for Coastal Road construction. In addition to this 140,500 trees will be cut between Worli and Marine Drive for this project.
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The resident's concern was that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had not mentioned anything about hearing public suggestions before putting up the notices. Out of the 140 trees that will be chopped down near Bhulabhai Desai Road, the BMC stated that it will transplant trees. Further, the trees will be cut for the widening of the road as well.
Notably, Coastal Road is an 8-lane, 29.2-km long freeway that would run along Mumbai's western coastline connecting Marine Lines in the south to Kandivali in the north. The Coastal Road is projected to be used by 1,30,000 vehicles daily and is expected to reduce travel time between South Mumbai and the Western Suburbs from 2 hours to 40 minutes. The estimated cost of the project is ₹12,000 crores. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by 2022.
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