Mumbai: BKC-Chunabhatti elevated connector opened

Caretaker Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the Bandra Kurla Complex-Chunabhatti Connector was open to public use. “In public interest, I declare that BKC-Chunabhatti Connector (flyover) stands open from today evening. With this, Mumbaikars will now save 30 minutes travel time and avoid traffic congestion at Dharavi and Sion junctions,” Fadnavis had tweeted. In another tweet he said that the 1.6-km long, 17-metre wide and four-lane connector will ease traffic towards Thane-Nashik and Panvel-Pune, and added that it will provide faster connectivity to and from the Eastern Express Highway.

The Rs.203-crore connector, which was under construction for four years, is an engineering marvel wherein a 230-metre-long stretch passes over Mithi river and has 50-metre long rail overbridges over tracks near Sion and Chunabhatti.

The NCP had alleged that the BJP-Shiv Sena government did not inaugurate the flyover earlier, despite it being ready before the elections.

MMRDA officers claimed that the inauguration was delayed because of the rains.

A fish belly shaped elevated corridor, passing through BKC, Babubhai Compound, Central Railway (near Sion), Duncan Colony, Harbour Line (Chunabhatti station), Somaiya ground and lands at Eastern Express Highway, is our yet another step towards bringing ease in living for Mumbaikars, Fadnavis noted.

Ex- Chief Poll Commissioner Seshan Dead

Former chief election commissioner TN Seshan, who led the game-changing electoral reforms in the country in the 1990s, died following a cardiac arrest. He was 86. Seshan was not keeping good health for the past couple of years and he passed away at about 9.30 pm. Known for his no-nonsense attitude, he was largely confined to his home here for the past several years. Former CEC SY Quraishi said on Twitter, “He was a true legend and a guiding force for all his successors...”

Cyclone Bulbul: Bulbul kills 9 in West Bengal

Nine people were killed and around 60,000 houses damaged in Bengal as Cyclone Bulbul left a trail of death and destruction in its wake as it veered towards Bangladesh and started losing steam.

Till evening, there were reports of 4.6 lakh people being affected across the state. The toll might rise, officials said. Eight fishermen who were on board the trawler MV Chandrani, which capsised off Mousuni island on the Bay of Bengal, are missing. Of the casualties confirmed, five were in North 24-Parganas district and one in East Midnapore’s Nandigram. One person died in a building collapse while trees uprooted by winds crushed other victims.

A father and son died in Hooghly of electrocution on Sunday and another was killed in a trawler capsise. The toll in Bengal since Saturday stands at 10.

The maximum damage was reported from South 24-Paragans.

Rescue efforts to trace the missing fishermen was abandoned on Sunday evening because of inclement weather and the remoteness of the location, said Kakdwip fishermen’s association secretary Bijan Maity. “The capsized trawlers have been spotted. The rescue effort will resume early on Monday,” said Maity.

State disaster relief minister Jawed Ahmed Khan said the 1.76 lakh people who were evacuated ahead of the landfall are slowly returning to their homes, but state-run schools will remain closed on Monday, too.

Kartarpur: Colourful ceremony welcomes first jatha

The opening of the Kartarpur Corridor on the Pakistan side turned out to be a lively, colourful ceremony with the first jatha of Indian pilgrims comprising, among others, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union ministers Hardeep Puri and Harsimrat Badal speaking in glowing terms about the corridor.

While Manmohan, accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur, said it was a good thing for both countries that the corridor had opened after a wait of over 70 years, Harsimrat said those talking about the possible use of corridor to revive the Khalistan movement did not believe in Guru Nanak or his teachings.

Many saw it as a jibe at Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who too was a part of the jatha. Amarinder had last week said Pakistan had a “hidden agenda” in opening the corridor.

Harsimrat’s father-in-law and former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal described it as the happiest day of his life.

Talking to journalists at Kartarpur Sahib, Puri said India’s main problems came from Pakistan army and ISI and not from the civilian government. Barring Navjot Singh Sidhu and actor and Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol, most of the Indian dignitaries didn’t sit through the speeches made by Pakistani leaders.

Most of them chose to explore other parts of the complex. Sidhu was the only Indian politician to give a speech at the ceremony. He thanked Pakistan PM Imran Khan for “creating history” by opening the corridor.

Manmohan and his wife spent considerable time at the gurdwara and also participated in the langar there.

The Akal Takht jathedar, and also the head of the jatha, was among the first to arrive at what is considered one of the holiest Sikh shrines. He said Pakistan as promised had not charged any service fee. “It was all very smooth with Indian and Pakistani officials working in tandem to facilitate the pilgrimage. Pakistan officials did look at our passports but didn’t stamp them,” he said.

The first jatha to travel through the corridor comprised pilgrims chosen from all over the world.

These included first Sikh member of European Parliament Neena Gill and NRI businessman Rami Ranger who was recently nominated to Britain’s House of Lords. Ranger also allayed fears expressed in India about Pakistan looking to fan separatist sentiments. “It will be a tragedy if that happened. Pakistan knows that it will gain by acting together with India and not the Khalistanis. With the Khalistanis, it will only get bad publicity,” he said.

Mumbai: Goregaon-Mulund Link Road

The long-awaited east-west connector, the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road is a step closer to reality. Work on an underground tunnel under Sanjay Gandhi National Park will start in six months after the BMC sealed a deal to buy 19.8 hectares of land abutting the Tadoba Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur for Rs.4.67 crore which will be handed over to the state forest department as compensation. Despite having the rest of the permissions in place for the underground tunnel, the project was held up as the forest department’s clearance was long pending over the compensation clause. Once completed, the 12.7-km long GMLR will connect Film City in Goregaon with Mulund, and a journey that currently takes over an hour will be reduced to 15 minutes. It will be a six-lane road, of which 4.7 km will be a twin tunnel road running underneath the SGNP.

Parag Seth, executive engineer, GMLR tunnel project, said, “This project was subject to the compensatory condition, based on which final clearance for GMLR tunnel will be granted. We have given an affirmation that environmental clearance isn’t required for this project since it is a road marked in the Development Plan. Physically we are not disturbing SGNP at all.”

The BMC had requested the forest department to suggest a land parcel convenient to them. The forest department suggested a buffer zone for their tiger reserve in Tadoba. A buffer zone is the land between a forest area and revenue department area which separates the village area from the forest. Seth said that the procedure to acquire the land from the residents of Chandrapur will be completed in the next two months. Work on the tunnel is expected to start in six months, he added. It is expected to be completed in five years.

The east-west connector was first proposed in the 1960s but the project never took off due to pending permissions. The total cost of this project is around Rs 6,000 crore. In this year’s BMC budget, the civic body has allocated Rs 100 crore for the GMLR project.

Elaborating on how this tunnel will help ease traffic in the city, Seth said, “Presently in Mumbai there is only Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road near this project. After JVLR, there is no link on the north side connecting the eastern and western suburbs. The only link is on Ghodbunder road in Thane. We expect 20 minutes travel time from Goregaon Western Express Highway to Eastern Express Highway,” said Seth.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay will conduct a study on the tunnels’ environmental impact on aquifers above ground and on the Tulsi and Vihar reservoirs in the SGNP, which supply water to the city.

No place for bitterness in new India: PM Modi

The Supreme Court judgment on the Ayodhya issue has heralded a new dawn and should not be seen as win or loss for anybody, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday. Addressing the nation after the verdict in the politically and communally sensitive case was pronounced, Modi invoked the fall of Berlin wall on November 9, 1989, and referred to the inauguration of the Kartarpur corridor earlier in the day to assert that the message of the day is for everyone to come together to surge ahead.

The fall of the Berlin wall brought two contrasting ideologies together while both India and Pakistan played a role in the development of the corridor, he noted. Modi urged people to shun any fear, bitterness and negativity and come together to build a new India.

“With verdict on Ayodhya, this date -- November 9 -- teaches us the power of staying united and growing together. Today is about the message of integration and emerging victorious together,” he said.

Hailing the Supreme Court for delivering the verdict on an important issue “which has a history of hundreds of years”, he pointed out that the entire country wanted the court to hear the matter daily and it happened. “For the Indian judiciary, it is a golden day. The Supreme Court heard everyone with patience and delivered a unanimous verdict,” Modi said in his 11-minute address. He said the judges, the courts, and the judicial processes should be greeted for their strong will.

“The dispute may have affected several generations, but after the judgment we have to take a pledge that the new generation will work for the creation of a new India with a fresh spirit,” he said.

Modi said that peace, unity and amity are essential for development of India and described November 9 as a day to forget any bitterness one may have. Earlier in the day, the prime minister took to Twitter to assert that the judgment should not be seen as win or loss for anybody and appealed to countrymen to maintain peace and harmony. In a series of tweets in Hindi and English, Modi also asserted that the judgment clearly illustrates that everybody is equal before the law.

“Be it Ram Bhakti or Rahim Bhakti, it is imperative that we strengthen the spirit of rashtra bhakti,” he said. Noting that the apex court has amicably concluded a matter going on for decades, he said the verdict will further strengthen people’s faith in the judicial system.

“The calm and peace maintained by 130 crore Indians in the run-up to today’s verdict manifests India’s inherent commitment to peaceful coexistence. May this very spirit of unity and togetherness power the development trajectory of our nation. May every Indian be empowered,” he said.

Every side, every point of view was given adequate time and opportunity to express differing points of view, he said. “The judgment is notable as it highlights that any dispute can be amicably solved in the spirit of due process of law. It (the verdict) reaffirms the independence, transparency and farsightedness of our judiciary. May peace and harmony prevail,” he tweeted.

Modi Inaugurates Kartarpur Corridor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor, thanking Pakistan premier Imran Khan for respecting Indian sentiments towards the shrine across the border that marks the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev.

“I thank Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi,” he told a gathering about eight km from the Dera Baba Nanak gurdwara, where he later flagged off the first batch of pilgrims to the shrine. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was part of the first “jatha” of over 400 pilgrims.

Modi said, I also want to thank workers in Pakistan who worked at a fast pace, helping in building the portion of the corridor on their side.”

The corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Kartarpur to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district, just four km apart across the border.

Before flagging off the first jatha, Modi chatted briefly with Manmohan Singh, who was accompanied by his wife Gursharan Kaur.

Other members of the delegation included Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Union ministers Hardeep Puri and Som Prakash.

Former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, his son and Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and daughter-in-law and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal were also part of the delegation led by Akal Takht Jathedar Harpreet Singh. Gurdaspur MLA Sunny Deol was part of this group.

The corridor, which allows visa-free access to the shrine where Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak Dev spent his final years, has been thrown open just ahead of his 550th birth anniversary on November 12.