Bandra-Worli sea link opens to excitement

The Bandra-Worli sea link opened on Wednesday morning to the public eliciting much excitement from commuters who had been eagerly awaiting this moment for years on end. Pregnant ladies, businessmen, pets, grannies and families alike, a sizeable crowd was present on Wednesday morning.

Bandra-Worli sea link opens to excitement

Scheduled to open at 7 am, the Bandra end of the link was opened on time and weather gods did not play truant with the city experiencing only light showers around that time.

SLIDESHOW 1

Among the first three to zip past were Mahim residents Nikita Patil and her husband Premjit. "We didn't really expect to be right in the front of the line but we're here and its an amazing feeling. We hope that the bridge is everything the authorities promised and by the first look of it, it seems that it is living up to expectations," said Patil, whose car was among the first three to zip past the entry point on the Bandra side.

On the Worli end, it was couple Parvin and Pradip Kothari from Mumbai Central who had parked their red Skoda Octavia at the start of the link from six in the morning. "We wanted to be the first, and we are," said a jubilant Parvin at the end of their crossing. "The ride was fabulous, and we surely will be using it very often."

SLIDESHOW 2

With no toll being levied for the first five days, the sea link is bound to see heavy traffic. Security remained tight around the link ends with VIP movement on the link shortly after seven when NCP leader Sharad Pawar passed through.

Residents from the vicinity also came to take a look. Financial consultant Arijit Mukherjee and resident of Bandra Reclamation, said he hoped that the sea link would not result in new bottlenecks blossoming in Bandra. "That's often the problem that the bottlenecks keep shifting around instead of being resolved, but that said, there is great hope that the link will at least resolve snarls on other arterial roads," said Mukherjee.

SLIDESHOW 3

The 5.6 kilometre link between the two suburbs was inaugurated formally by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi yesterday. It was initially meant to be open to the public on Tuesday midnight, but because of traffic police concerns, the link was only opened on Wednesday morning.