Chembur Skywalk & Monorail Project

Complied By : Sudhakar Anchan ( Chembur-Ghatkopar Plus)
The state government-initiated MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) monorail project was inaugurated recently by chief minister Ashok Chavan. This is India’s first monorail project.

The launching ceremony of the Mumbai Monorail Project and Chembur skywalk/foot over bridge was presided over by Dy CM, Chhagan Bhujbal along with other dignitaries. As per MMRDA time schedule, the monorail project from Chembur to Wadala will be completed by 2010 and the Wadala to Saat Rasta project would take a further six months.

The travel time taken by the monorail will be one-third of time taken by BEST buses. Where there can’t be metro rail, monorail will be a good option. A Malaysian company SCOMI Engineering and Larsen and Toubro will jointly undertake the project. Each monorail will have four to six bogies in it. Senior citizens can utilise the facility of elevators at stations.

Some of the benefits of monorail are faster connectivity from Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk (Saat Rasta) to Wadala and Chembur, reduction in travel time and added impetus to growth on the corridor. The monorail will be eco friendly and most importantly road congestion will be drastically reduced in the city.

While inaugurating the project, CM Ashok Chavan said, “I thank citizens from Chembur because the inauguration of the project is being done from here. These projects will ease the citizens’ commuting problems. Their dream will be fulfilled. All work will be done at a fast pace. We will carry forward the work steadfastly.”

Under the skywalk project, there will be 67 skywalks in Mumbai, of which 30 skywalks will be completed by May this year. The project will be started from Chembur and there will be no hawkers on the skywalk. Various projects under MMRDA costing around Rs13,000 crore are being initiated from this part of Mumbai. MP Gurudas Kamat said, “We were able to undertake various infrastructure projects with the help of the central government. These developmental projects will change the face of Mumbai.”

Dy CM, Chhagan Bhujbal, State ministers Chandrakant Handore and Nawab Malik and MMRDA commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad also spoke on the occasion highlighting the advantages of monorail and skywalks.