Inaugurated just over five months ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the bridge has become embroiled in controversy amid allegations of corruption and concerns over commuter safety.
Nana Patole, Maharashtra Congress chief, personally inspected the site of the cracks and expressed serious apprehensions about the bridge’s structural integrity.
“It is very worrisome that the ‘Atal Setu’ bridge, which was inaugurated by Narendra Modi only five months ago, has cracked,” Patole wrote on X.
“While the incident of the collapse of a newly constructed bridge in Bihar is fresh, many question marks are being raised on the work of the government as this shocking incident has come to light in Mumbai as well,” Patole stated, questioning the authority responsible for compromising public safety.
Costing approximately Rs 17,840 crore, the MTHL was promoted as a pivotal infrastructure project aimed at enhancing connectivity and reducing travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
Named in tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the bridge’s construction quality has now been called into question by the emergence of these defects.
“I inspected this bridge with my colleagues to expose the corrupt practices of the government as part of the Congress party agitation. The matter is very serious and we demand that the Hon’ble High Court should take immediate notice and investigate the matter,” Patole said.
Meanwhile, Congress’s official X handle (formerly known as Twitter), also posted images and raised concerns about the government’s handling of the situation.
“Narendra Modi had inaugurated Atal Setu 6 months ago. There was a lot of publicity, a lot of photos were clicked. Now the news is that ? Atal bridge built at a cost of 18 thousand crores has developed a crack. This is clearly a case of corruption.” Congress wrote.
