Common man cuts the ribbon for infrastructural projects

Mumbai: Gone are the days when residents would wait endlessly for projects to be inaugurated by politicians. In a new trend, Thane residents seem to be taking the lead in inaugurating a project.

In the latest case, residents from Kopri began using the skywalk, even when it has not been inaugurated. The skywalk had been completed for around 200 metres from Thane station to Mangala School since the past few months. However it was not opened for use. "Due to the skywalk's construction there had been tremendous congestion on the road leading to traffic jams. If the skywalk is ready for use it should be made available for the people," said Usha Mehta, a Kopri resident.

President of the BJP Thane unit Sandip Lele represented the 'Skywalk Virodhi Kruti Samiti' pleaded ignorance about when commuters began using the skywalk. "I noticed that lights had been installed on the skywalk, but I don't know when people started using it," added Lele. The Kopri skywalk which is aimed at connecting eastern and western sections had been controversial before the project was taken up. Construction of the skywalk had been stalled near Sainath temple due to the presence of electric cables. It is only after the cables were dislocated that work could be completed.

In another case, visitors at the Masunda Lake had gone ahead with the 'inauguration' after the revamp. The 50-metre-area near the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was closed even after the beautification work was completed. The authorities had been waiting for politicians to grace the inauguration so that it could be opened for the public. However soon after visitors realised that the work was completed, they went ahead and started using it. Mumbra Flyover which was completed in March 2009 was similarly thrown open for traffic without formal inauguration, due to the model code of conduct.

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