Nearly 80K vehicles plied Mumbai Trans Harbour Link in 48 hours

Vehicles parked on the MTHL on Sunday blocking traffic, while motorists click pictures. Pic/Ranjeet Jadhav

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva, seems to be a smash hit among motorists. "In the first 48 hours since it was opened to the public on January 13, a total of 79,450 vehicles plied the bridge," said a Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) official.

According to the official, 24,083 vehicles used the MTHL on Saturday while the following day's figure was 55,367.

The one-way toll for motorists is Rs 250 while the return fare is Rs 375 and daily pass costs Rs 625.

On Monday, mid-day revealed how foolhardy motorists were blocking traffic by halting on the connector to click pictures.

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link as seen from Parel on January 15. Pic/Rane Ashish. Location courtesy/Crescent Bay

The traffic police department has started cracking down on such offenders. It also posted on X on Monday, "We agree that Atal Setu is definitely ‘worth a watch' but it's also illegal to stop on it & click photos. You will face a FIR if you stop on MTHL."

Motorist Hitendra Pachkale, who travelled via the bridge on Sunday night, confirmed that he saw traffic constables penalising motorists who were stopping for frivolous reasons.

"The MTHL falls under the jurisdiction of the Mumbai police and their Navi Mumbai counterparts. Action has been taken against 139 vehicles for parking violations from January 13th to 5.30 pm on January 15 on the section of the bridge under the Mumbai police's jurisdiction. Out of the 139 cases, action was taken against four today," said an officer from the traffic control room.

M Ramkumar, additional commissioner of police (traffic), said, "We have started taking action on a war footing against people who stop on the MTHL under Section 177 (parking violations) of the Motor Vehicles Act. The fine for parking in no-parking zones is R500 for first-time offenders. Traffic police vehicles are patrolling the bridge at regular intervals to check for people stopping to click photographs. Since Sunday, people have come to know that we are acting against offenders, which is why the number decreased on Monday."

‘1,300 ill after Modi event'

Dr Nitin Deomane, a surgeon at Raigad Civil Hospital, said that about 1,300 people visited the outpatient department (OPD) on the day of the event. He said that this was expected due to the large number of attendees. "Medically speaking, it is anticipated that at least two per cent of people will experience some kind of medical issue at any large gathering, so this is not uncommon," he said.

Since there was an adequate supply of water at the event, no cases of severe dehydration were reported. In a similar event held last year in April in Navi Mumbai, where Home Minister Amit Shah was amongst the main invitees, a severe lack of water resulted in the deaths of 13 people and the hospitalisation of around 650 others due to heat strokes.

"Overall, the common complaints in the event were related to headaches or pain in the knees or feet," he said. Meanwhile, the hospital admitted six patients for observation. "All of them had blood pressure issues. There have been no casualties," he said, adding that most of those who visited the hospital had come from nearby villages to attend the event.