Thane: Minister lays foundation stone for water transport work in Dombivli

KALYAN: In a major step towards developing water transport, minister of state for ports Ravindra Chavan on Saturday, before coming into effect of the model code of conduct, performed bhumi pujan (foundation stone laying ceremony) for construction of jetty at Dombivli creek in the Thane district of Maharashtra.
The Dombivli based jetty will be constructed by Maritime Board at a cost of Rs 13 crore. The Dombivli based jetty is part of first phase of the 50 km inland water transport connecting Thane, Kalyan and Vashi. It will provide relief to lakhs of road and rail commuters in Mumbai Metropolitan region. The sources said that the funding of the first phase of the project is over Rs 500 crore and it will entirely be born by the centre. The project is to be executed in three phases.
During the bhumi pujan ceremony, Chavan said, "The project will not just provide an alternative transport but it will reduce commute time and costs too."
The opposition meanwhile have raised question about timing of bhumi pujan by minister Chavan who is also BJP MLA from Dombivli. Mandar Halbe, group leader of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena said, "The minister has performed several bhumi pujan ceremonies in last few days including today's jetty, 471 crore cement road and Ved Pathshala in Dombivli to make people happy but reality is that not a single tender or work order for any of these projects has been issued".