Two days before the state goes to the polls on October 13, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link will be shut for a couple of hours to allow a Formula One racing car to zoom through the bridge.
Thousands of motorists — though fewer than the number the authorities had hoped for — take the 4.7-km sea link every day to bypass at least 20 signals on LJ Road between Bandra and Worli.
The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), which owns the sea link, has given a no objection certificate (NoC) to the organisers of the event — the Red Bull Formula One team.
An MSRDC official, however, said the permission was given along with a couple of riders. The organisers will have to take the Election Commission of India’s permission before hosting the event. “Also, they will have to take the public works department’s permission,” he said. “Though the sea link will be closed for a little more than two hours, the organisers will pay an entire day’s toll (Rs20 lakh) in advance to the collecting agency.”
Formula One driver David Coulthard will drive the car on the sea link. The organisers are likely to get a formal permission within the next few days. MSRDC officials are, however, not too happy with the way things are going. “The Mumbai Marathon will cross the sea link. We have willingly given our permission to it because the event is
mainly for charity,” an MSRDC official said.
“But for the F1 event, the MSRDC has been forced to give its consent. The organisers have told us that the event will put the sea link on the world map. But what we require now is not just publicity. In fact, we have had enough of it. Instead, we need more motorists to use the sea link, so that our toll revenue goes up.”
Moreover, the F1 event organisers will sell the television rights of the event and earn huge revenue, the official added.
