People commuting from Vasai to Kalyan and Bhiwandi in jam packed trains or via road amidst heavy traffic congestion can soon heave a sigh of relief. After extended delays the work for the much awaited multi corridor Inland Water Transport (IWT) system has not only cleared all bureaucratic hurdles but has finally received a green signal from the central and state government authorities.
Local parliamentarian- Rajan Vichare and legislator- Geeta Jain who had been following-up on the issue for the past couple of years embarked on a boat journey on Sunday to inspect the sites where four jetties have been proposed for the IWT services. The project was originally planned in 2016, but had continued to remain on the drawing boards due to lack of clearances.
Ten jetties including- Vasai, Mira-Bhayandar, Ghodbunder, Naglabunder, Kolshet, Kalher, Paarsik, Anjur Dive, Dombivli and Kalyan are on the anvil in the first phase of the of the multi corridor-IWT system. However, work on four out of the ten jetties including-Mira- Bhayandar, Kalshet, Kalher and Dombivali will begin immediately.
The four jetties will be built at a cost of around Rs. 100 crore which will be shouldered by the central and state government equally. The state government has already made budgetary allocations for the project. Vichare and Jain who were accompanied by senior officers from the Maritime Board also inspected the old railway bridge which runs over the creek and connects Bhayandar with Naigaon.
Said to be in a rickety state, the 60-year-old bridge which also carries water-pipelines to the Panju Island could not only create hindrances to the water-way route, but the shifting of pipelines envisages expenses amounting Rs. 12 crore. However efforts were on to resolve the issue by seeking the intervention of the railway ministry, officials said.
