Mumbai:
The Bandra-Worli sea link was inaugurated on Wednesday but the presence of Amitabh Bachchan at the function has sparked off a controversy. (
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A section of the Mumbai Congress is believed to be unhappy as the Bollywood icon, who is closely associated with former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, was invited to share the dais at a Congress-NCP function. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was also present at the function.
City Congress chief Kripa Shankar Singh even went public with his disagreement. He said: "We were not consulted before inviting Amitabh Bachchan."
Chavan himself indicated the unhappiness in PCC over the invite to Bachchan, a friend-turned-foe of the party, and exclusion of some Congress leaders from the function.
"The Mumbai Congress President (Kripashankar Singh) has given some reaction in the evening about invitations not being given to them....", Chavan told NDTV.
He said: "Yes there has been some discontent in the Mumbai Congress about invitations to Congressmen and also the invitation to Mr Bachchan. The invites were sent out by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC)."
Congress' coalition partner NCP is heading the ministry concerned with the sea link.
The Mumbai Congress is understood to have conveyed its unhappiness to the party high command about the presence of Bachchan at the function while a number of Congressmen were not invited, top Congress sources said in New Delhi.
Hours after the function, the party high command received the complaint, the sources said.
The eight-lane sea link is now complete as four more lanes were added on Wednesday.
With eight lanes stretching up to 4 kilometres, the sea link will connect Bandra to Worli in seven minutes, thanks to a speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour.
A portion of the sea link was opened late last year for the city. Today, four more lanes have been added.
The four lanes that opened last year will handle traffic entering the city; the four lanes opening today will service those leaving the island city.
The toll is Rs 50 each way, a return passage costs Rs 75.
The 4-kilometre sea link has cost the city 1634 crores. Work on the project began in 1999.
The next phase will extend to Haji Ali in South Mumbai. (With PTI input)