Versova-Bandra Sea link named after Veer Savarkar, MTHL after Atal Bihari Vajpayee

The state cabinet of Maharashtra has formally accepted and named the Versova-Bandra Sea link as Swatantryaveer Savarkar Sagari Setu after the late Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar.

The Versova-Bandra Sea link is 17 Kms long and will connect Andheri to the Bandra-Worli Sea link as part of the coastal road. This sea link is expected to cost around 11,000 crore Rupees and is expected to be complete by 2025-2026.

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis had shared a letter in March, requesting the Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde to name the Versova-Bandra Sea link after Savarkar and the MTHL after Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The state cabinet has also given the nod to name the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) after late Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It will be officially named as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Smruti Shivdi-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, said CM Eknath Shinde.

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link is a 22 kms long road will connect Mumbai to Navi Mumbai and is expected to be complete by December this year. The MTHL is said to cost about 17,000 crore Rupees and along with being the longest sea link, has also seen various technological firsts during its construction.

The coastal road is an 8 lane, 29 kms long grade separated expressway which will run along Mumbai’s coastline connecting Kandivali to Marine Lines. It is expected to reduce the time of travel from the western suburb to the southern part of Bombay from 2 hours to less than 1 hour. The coastal road is to be named after Maratha ruler Sambhaji.  

The naming of the sea links after Savarkar and Vajpayee comes after the divide in Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and his alliance with the BJP, who have been claiming to be the true torch-bearer of Hindutva ideology after their bitter split with Shiv Sena in 2019, which was then under Uddhav Thackeray, son of Hindutva leader and founder of Shiv Sena, Balasaheb Thackeray.