Mumbai: Senior NCP leader and former minister Nawab Malik on Sunday tried to forcibly inaugurate the Chunabhatti-BKC flyover in Mumbai, alleging that the road link is deliberately not being opened by MMRDA officials to suit the schedule of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The Mumbai unit NCP president along with thousands of NCP workers assembled in Everard Nagar area in Chunabhatti on Sunday morning. They were stopped by police ahead of the Priyadarshini bridge located nearby the new flyover.
He later climbed an earth-mover brought along by the workers to demolish the temporary prohibitory wall at the newly-built flyover. He said the officials assured him to throw open the flyover for traffic without fanfare.
Malik alleged the officials are intentionally delaying the inauguration of the flyover to suit the CM's convenience.
The officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) also climbed another earth-mover and requested the NCP leader to withdraw the protest.
"MMRDA officials have assured me that the bridge will be opened for traffic in the next eight days. Hence, I have decided to withdraw my protest," Malik said.
Malik, a four-term MLA was made new president of Mumbai unit of the party a week after Sachin Ahir switched sides and joined the Shiv Sena.
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP, which won 13 seats more in recently-concluded state assembly elections compared to its 2014 tally, seems to be aggressive stand on developmental issues.
According to reports, the bridge was sanctioned before 2014 when the Congress-NCP government was in power. However, its construction completed just ahead of the 2019 assembly elections.
Local residents face a lot of inconvenience in the absence of a direct link connecting Chunabhatti with the Bandra Kurla Complex.
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