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Sena, BJP can't see eye to eye

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be here for a few hours on Sunday, will lay the foundation stones for two major infrastructure projects and for a long-delayed memorial for Ambedkar at Shivaji Park.
He will also be addressing a public rally at the Bandra-Kurla complex, before returning to the national capital. Interestingly, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, not on the best of terms with the BJP, is likely to skip the events and visit the drought-hit Marathawada region.
Differences between the BJP and the Shiv Sena - long-time allies in Maharashtra, and partners in the National Democratic Alliance both in the state and at the centre - have sunk to new lows in the recent past. Leaders from both parties constantly keep attacking each other and no attempts have been made by either Modi or Thackeray to repair their strained relationship.
After landing in Mumbai, Modi will head across the harbour to Nhava-Sheva where he will lay the foundation stone for the fourth terminal at India's busiest container terminal. Singapore-based PSA International won the bid last year for the fourth terminal, the first phase of which is expected to be ready in three years, when the port's container-handling capacity will more than double to 10 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
The prime minister will then lay the foundation stone of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial at the state-owned Indu Mills compound at Shivaji Park.
Later, he will lay the foundation stone for another major infrastructure project, the second phase of the Mumbai metro, covering two parallel corridors from Dahisar to Andheri. The two corridors are expected to be completed in less than four years.
After years of delays and inaction, Mumbai's ambitious metro rail projects are finally getting on track, with the state government having given the green signal for the multi-billion-rupee schemes. Last week, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) awarded contracts for the third phase of the metro, the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz underground corridor, which will be one of the most challenging metro lines in India. The metro projects have started moving after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis got an assurance about funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) during his visit to Tokyo last month.
Just before the Japan visit, the MMRDA - which is headed by the chief minister - approved an expenditure of over Rs350 billion for five different corridors of the metro, which would ultimately traverse a route of 120km. Only the first phase of the Mumbai metro is currently operational, linking Versova to Andheri and Ghatkopar.
The government is now speeding up the second and third phases of the project. The second phase will be one of the longest, covering 40km, and linking Dahisar to Charkop, Bandra and Mankhurd.
Mumbai has one of the most efficient mass transport system in India. The suburban railway corridors carry more than seven million commuters daily. However, most of the trains are over-crowded and commuters travel in terrible conditions in the non-air-conditioned trains.
nithin@khaleejtimes.com

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