Navi Mumbai: PM Modi Inaugurates Atal Setu
PM Modi inaugurated India’s longest sea bridge Atal Setu also known as the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) on 12th January 2024 at 4 pm in Navi Mumbai.
PM Modi inaugurated India’s longest sea bridge ‘Atal Setu’ on 12th January 2024 at 4 pm in Navi Mumbai. Also known as the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), Atal Setu is a 21.8 km long sea bridge, named after India's former prime minister & BJP member Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. The bridge is built over the Thane creek and connects South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, between Sewri and Nhava Sheva. Atal Setu has reduced the travel time from two-hour to just 20 minutes. Officials believe that the bridge will save around ?500 fuel cost per journey. According to the reports, this bridge was conceptualized 6 decades ago in 1963 to connect Mumbai's Sewri to Raigad's Chirle and later updated multiple times as times progressed. The foundation stone of the bridge was laid by PM Modi in December 2016 but the construction began in 2018. It has also drastically improved connectivity between Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad, eventually reducing travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa and South India. The bridge has six-lanes and stretches 16.5 km over the sea and about 5.5 km on land. The total cost to build Atal Setu is more than ?17,840 crore of which ?15,000 crore is by way of loans. Travelers will be charged ?250 for a one-way toll for the bridge but the charges for the return journey and frequent commuters will vary. The toll charge may be revised after a year following a review. The maximum speed limit for four-wheelers has been kept at 100 km/hour. Two-wheelers, tractors and auto rickshaws are not allowed on the bridge. Nearly 70,000 vehicles are expected to run across the bridge daily. The bridge weighs 17 times more than the weight of the steel used in the construction of the Eiffel Tower. Around 1,77,903 metric tonnes (over 17 crore kg) of steel and 504,253 metric tonnes (50 crore kg) of cement were used. It is one of the strongest bridges in the world as it's been built with earthquake-resistant technology. It is designed to withstand four different types of earthquakes of up to 6.5 magnitude. During the inauguration, PM Modi said “Atal Setu is the picture of Viksit Bharat (developed India). In Viksit Bharat, there will be facilities for all, there will be prosperity for all, there will be speed and there will be progress. In Viksit Bharat, distances will be reduced and every corner of the country will be connected. Be it life or livelihood, everything will go on continuously, without interruption. This is the message of Atal Setu. PM Modi also thanked the government of Japan and remembered late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and how both him & Abe had vowed to complete the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project. After his speech, PM Modi went on the bridge for pictures & walked a small distance on it. Before the inauguration, PM Modi visited Nashik and paid tribute to Swami Vivekananda on the occasion of his birth anniversary. He also prayed at the Shree Kalaram Temple in Nashik & also took part in a 'cleanliness drive' at the temple by mopping the temple’s floor himself. PM Modi also unveiled projects worth more than ?30,000 crore in Navi Mumbai. He also laid the foundation stone for an underground road tunnel connecting Eastern Freeway's Orange Gate and launched the Namo Mahila Shashaktikaran Abhiyaan in the state worth more than ?12,000 crore.
