Atal Setu definitely a sight to behold but don't stop midway, say cops; warn of FIR
Mumbai, Jan 15: Nearly 80,000 vehicles have used the Atal Setu, the country's longest sea bridge that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 12, since it was thrown open to the public at 8am on Saturday but the over-enthusiasm of some motorists has also raised concern among netizens.
People have been spotted clicking selfies, stopping on the bridge to enjoy the view of the sea and even trying to access areas that could turn dangerous for those involved, as well as littering, with photographs, videos and reels flooding social media.
Late Monday evening, in a message on social media platform X, the Mumbai police said " we agree Atal Setu is definitely a watch but it is also illegal to stop on it and click photos".
"You will face an FIR if you stop on MTHL," the police warned motorists.
On Saturday, a total of 24,083 vehicles used the sea bridge, while the figure was 55,367 on Day 2, a Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority spokesperson said on Monday. The minimum one-way toll on the 21-8 kilometre sea bridge that connects Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in neighbouring Raigad is Rs 250.
"My entire family and I enjoyed this great ride on modern India's yet another engineering marvel, #AtalSetu, aka #MTHL. Mumbai never looked so beautiful; we could never have this angled view of the great skyline of SoBo and Navi Mumbai! Such infrastructure development fills our hearts with pride as Indians," @rakesh_delivers wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Panvel resident Vaibhav Buva, who works in an advertising agency in Lower Parel in the metropolis, said the bridge has been built for people like him who otherwise had to navigate "nightmare traffic" to get to work.
He also said the lack of dividers at the toll collection booths resulted in a couple of car owners, coming from the metropolis side, taking a U-turn on the bridge to click photographs.
Buva, however, noted "everybody on the bridge was happy and elated" adding that he too shot a couple of reels.
Some motorists also shared photographs of litter on the bridge, flouting of rules, blocking of emergency lanes by some vehicles and stopping midway for selfies.
"Just one day after the Atal Setu inauguration, Indians are treating it as a romantic getaway, even though there's a fee to use it. Just imagine the excitement if this bridge were free. It would be perfect for social media influencers," @AnIndianBoi wrote on X.
While Mumbai police has banned motorcycles, tractors, auto rickshaws, mopeds, animal-pulled carts and other slow-moving vehicles on the sea bridge, some photographs of an autorickshaw as well as motorcycles went viral on social media.
"On the day when #RoadSafety month commences in India, an Auto Rickshaw has been spotted on the #MTHL bridge; what else do you'll expect to see being spotted on the bridge? a) Tractor b) Cycle c) A stall selling CORN during monsoon season," Mumbai resident Suheil Marchant wrote sarcastically on X.
A video showing some couples crossing the bridge ladder to alight on a viewing platform also went viral, prompting some netizens to ask police to book them for the dangerous act.
"Utter nonsense. This should not happen! Government authorities, please take action on these cars!," wrote "Mumbai Rain's on X after cars were seen blocking emergency lanes etc.
However, some netizens also said such acts may be the result of curiosity due to the newness of the sea bridge as well as the sights around, like oil refineries and port operations which are otherwise inaccessible to most people, and normal traffic behaviour would return when the novelty wears off.
In an appeal on X, the MMRDA said, "Experience the joy of driving on India's longest sea bridge having speed limit of 100 kmph. For your safety, we advise against stopping on the bridge for selfies. Drive responsibly and enjoy the journey."
A top Mumbai police official said action was taken against 122 vehicles on the first day and 42 on Sunday night.
We agree that Atal Setu is definitely 'worth a watch' but it's also illegal to stop on it & click photos. You will face a FIR if you stop on MTHL. #MumbaiTransHarbourLink #MTHL #AtalSetu#FaceFIRIfYouStop pic.twitter.com/582CLgA72W
— Mumbai Traffic Police (@MTPHereToHelp) January 15, 2024
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Mohsin's fifer helps LSG restrict KKR to 155/7 despite Rinku's 83
Lucknow (PTI): Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mohsin Khan added another sordid chapter to Kolkata Knight Riders' batting woes, taking five wickets to restrict the three-time champions to a modest 155 for seven in their IPL match here on Sunday.
Mohsin’s 5 for 23, a personal best for the left-arm pacer in this format, tore apart an already struggling KKR batting unit, as he snaffled the cream wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell and Anukul Roy.
Rinku Singh (83 not out, 51 balls) made a well-paced fifty and punished Mohammed Shami in the 19th over for 6, 4, 4 and the smoked four sixes in a row against spinner Digvesh Rathi as KKR made 43 runs in the last two overs to go past the 150-run mark.
But his fifty remained a lone act, as Mohsin firmly stood in the limelight.
His bowling ethos were rooted in simple tactics — bang the ball into the black soil pitch to gain bounce or use cutters at various pace to keep the batters guessing.
Mohsin, who started the night with a wicket maiden, showed his variety across two dismissals.
He followed Rahane with a fuller ball as the batter tried to go over the covers, but the ball’s trajectory forced the KKR skipper to just slice the ball up for a simple catch for Aiden Markram.
The 27-year-old stayed calm when Green, who looked comfortable out there while smashing George Linde for two successive sixes, slammed him for a huge maximum.
Two balls later, Mohsin dug one short, challenging Green (34) to go for the pull and the Australian all-rounder took the bait.
The into-the-body angle worked again as Green could only sky the ball to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Green’s ouster also ended a fifth wicket alliance worth 42 with Rinku Singh.
Bizarre dismissal of Raghuvanshi
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If the existing turmoil was not enough, KKR had to bear the dejection of seeing Angkrish Raghuvanshi getting dismissed obstructing the field.
On the final ball of the fifth over from Prince Yadav, Raghuvanshi nudged one towards mid-on and set off for a single, only to be rejected by Green.
Raghuvanshi put in a dive to save himself but he came in the line of the throw from Shami.
Subsequently, third umpire Rohit Pandit accepted LSG’s appeal and decided that the batter’s turning radius was more than required, eventually resulting in the batter’s dismissal in a rare manner.
