Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha seeks to rename the Delisle Flyover bridge

After five years, the Delisle flyover was finally opened for vehicular traffic on Thursday evening. The bridge was inaugurated by cutting the ribbon by City Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar, Suburban Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar. Even though the opening of this bridge has been controversial, now a new controversy has arisen. Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha has requested to name the bridge after an Indian person.

Proposal to rename the bridge

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Lodha opined that since the Delisle Bridge was named after a foreigner, it would be more appropriate to name it after an Indian. Besides, he proposed to implement a system for pedestrians to walk on the bridge until the escalator work is completed. Lodha emphasised that due to this bridge, the smooth journey of the citizens going to South Mumbai will be made easier and a convenient option will be available.

Mumbai BJP President Ashish Shelar took a dig at UBT Shiv Sena saying that some parties deliberately politicised the delay of this project. He alleged that these parties want to inconvenience the people so that they seek solutions from them.

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Another eyebrow-raising aspect of the ceremony was the presence of local MLA Sunil Shinde, who belongs to the UBT Shiv Sena, at the inauguration ceremony. Sunil Shinde is also named in the police complaint along with Aditya Thackeray, Sachin Ahir and Kishori Pedankar. During the ceremony, Ashish Shelar said that Sunil Shinde's name should be dropped from the police complaint.

Last week, a case was registered against Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray for opening a delay bridge without BMC permission. On Tuesday, Aditya Thackeray tweeted photos of the Delisle Bridge and the Mumbai Trans Harbor Link (MTHL), demanding their opening and questioning whose arrogance is keeping these bridges closed.

In 2018, the Delay Bridge was closed to vehicles. Scheduled to open in 2022, the project was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a significant demand to complete the work of the bridge and open it in time. Due to the absence of a bridge, the residents of the area had to face traffic jams.