Today in Politics: PM Modi to throw open India’s longest bridge, Atal Setu, in Mumbai

Continuing his visit to major states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Maharashtra on Friday to inaugurate major infrastructure projects, including the country’s biggest bridge.

At around 12.15 pm, the Prime Minister will arrive in Nashik to inaugurate the 27th National Youth Festival. January 12 is celebrated as National Youth Day on the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. During his visit to the city, Modi is scheduled to hold a roadshow and pray at the well-known Kalaram Temple as well as the Ramkund and Goda Ghat areas.

From there, the PM is scheduled to travel to Mumbai around 3.30 pm to inaugurate and take the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, or the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, to Navi Mumbai. It is a 21.8 km, six-lane bridge that has been constructed for more than Rs 17,840 crore. It is India’s longest bridge, with about 16.5 km over the sea and 5.5 km on the land. The PM had laid its foundation in December 2016.

According to a government statement, the bridge will provide faster connectivity to Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport. It will also reduce the travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa and south India, and improve connectivity between Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port, also known as Nava Sheva Port in Navi Mumbai.

The Prime Minister will then inaugurate and lay the foundation stones of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 12,700 crore at an event in Navi Mumbai, including an underground road tunnel, a regional bulk drinking water project for the people of Thane and Palghar, railway projects worth about Rs 2,000 crore, and a facilitation centre for the gems and jewellery sector at the Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone — Special