New India sea link bridge opens

By Prachi Pinglay
BBC News, Mumbai

The sea link is an engineering feat

The first bridge to be built over the sea in India has been officially opened in Mumbai by Sonia Gandhi, the head of the ruling Congress party.

The bridge was built to ease traffic congestion and cut travelling time between the western suburbs of Bandra with Worli over the Arabian Sea.

It has eight lanes and aims to reduce journey time from 45 to six minutes.

But - held up by litigation and protests - it took more than ten years and cost $400m to build.

Authorities say the bridge is a way to ease Mumbai's traffic problems - the island city with a population of 18 million has more than 1.5 million vehicles.

Residents of Mumbai lined the sea front on Monday night to watch fireworks celebrating the expected opening of the bridge .

"It was too short. It looked beautiful but I wish they had more fire crackers. I don't know if I will use the bridge but I will surely go once to check it out," said Tejashree Raut, a college student who had come to Shivaji Park.

Another Mumbai resident expressed scepticism about the cost of the bridge.

"It will be too expensive to use it daily. Moreover, there will be a traffic jam after one gets off the bridge to proceed towards south Mumbai. I do not think it is worth spending all this money," Sunil Karnik said.

The bridge is a part of a drive to create a more rapid transport infrastructure in the city.

New railway links, flyovers, an underground railway, elevated walkways and sea transport have been planned.

Critics do not believe the bridge will help ease traffic congestion in a city which adds several hundred new vehicles to its roads every day.

And environmental activists also question the project's impact on the sea bed and marine ecology. Some have even argued that the livelihoods of fishermen - among the oldest residents of the city - will also be threatened.

Nevertheless it has been described as an "engineering marvel".

Traffic police say they are confident they will be able to manage the flow of vehicles.