Hours after our report highlighting the bridge that was shrouded in darkness for a fortnight, MMRDA finally clears dues
MSEDCL staff reconnected power supply to the bridge on Saturday. Pic/Hanif Patel
Hours after a front-page report in mid-day highlighted how the Naigaon road overbridge was shrouded in darkness for a fortnight because the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had defaulted on Rs 8-lakh power bills, on Saturday, the authorities swung into action and cleared the outstanding dues.
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This is the first time that the MMRDA has paid the electricity bill for the crucial east-west connector in the last 30 months. mid-day’s report on the matter (“Naigaon’s only East-West link goes dark”) appeared yesterday. The same day, the dues were paid, and the Maharashtra State Electricity Department Co Ltd’s (MSEDCL) superintendent engineer asked his team to restore power supply to the 1.3-km link between Naigaon east and west.
The electricity supplier, police, as well as local residents, have thanked mid-day for “waking the MMRDA officials”. “They [MMRDA] finally woke up from their deep slumber only after mid-day published the article,” said Naigaon resident Ashish Vartak.
The ROB’s construction was completed on April 1, 2022, and MMRDA got it electrified on September 28, 2022. “The connection was taken in the name of MMRDA’s executive engineer. Due to red tape, the bridge was never handed over to the municipal corporation. Initially, MSEDCL continued to supply electricity despite MMRDA never paying the bill,” Vartak informed mid-day.
Once the outstanding bill surpassed R8 lakh, MSEDCL disconnected the power supply around 15 days ago, leaving the entire stretch shrouded in darkness. Nitin Kamble, executive engineer at MMRDA, said, “We paid the electricity bill for Naigaon bridge on Saturday. A payment of R8.16 lakh was made to MSEDCL via RTGS.”
Sanjay Khandare, executive engineer at MSEDCL, confirmed: “MMRDA paid the bill on Saturday. It was possible only after mid-day’s article. We were also happy about people having to travel in the dark. We had to disconnect the supply as the bill had surpassed R8 lakh, and yet no one was taking on the responsibility to pay the bill.”
A senior official from Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police too thanked mid-day, adding, “Illuminated roads discourage anti-social elements from thronging the stretch, and CCTV footage remains clear when the area is adequately lit.”
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No of months the MMRDA had not paid the power bill for the crucial bridge that connects east and west
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