MUMBAI: Immediately after the success in Assembly polls, the Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) has started taking on the government. NCP Mumbai Unit President Nawab Malik said aggressively that they are going to inaugurate the Chunabhatti-BKC bridge in Mumbai on Sunday as the government failed to open it for the public though the bridge is completed.

The government had earlier announced that it was going to inaugurate the bridge to ease the traffic in  Chembur, but it couldn’t as the prime minister was not available for the inauguration and later the Model Code of Conduct came into force.

Nawab Malik indicated that the NCP has started  cornering the government even before the formation of the government.

The 1.6-km BKC-Chunabhatti flyover-elevated road was constructed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to provide direct connectivity from Bandra-Kurla Complex to Eastern Express Highway and cut travel time by 30 minutes.

It was stalled as the government wants it to open in a grand celebration and the celebration could not happen due to the Model Code of Conduct. Malik asked that after completion of the work of the bridge, it is not opened for public, then why was it constructed. 

“The bridge was sanctioned during NCP-Congress regime and implemented by the BJP government,” he said.

“On Sunday, the NCP will inaugurate the bridge with their party workers. If the government has the courage to stop us, they can do so,” he challenged.

The bridge is built at a cost of Rs 203 crore and links G Block, near MMRDA building, in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) to Eastern Express Highway (EEH), near Somaiya Grounds, ahead of Sion flyover. The flyover will cut journey time on BKC-Sion route by almost 30 minutes. It will decongest traffic on EEH and LBS Marg between Kurla and Sion, Sion-Dharavi Link Road and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road. Both links are used to reach BKC or Western Express Highway.