More than six months ago, the Mumbai Police warned the MSRDC that the 4.7-km Bandra-Worli Sea Link could be attacked.
They sought Rs50 crore to provide the sea link with a state of the art security system. But the corporation did little except for sending a request letter to its parent ministry.
D Sivanandhan, Mumbai police commissioner, wrote two letters to the MSRDC vice-chairman and managing director warning about the possibility of ‘spectacular attacks’ on the new iconic identity of the city. He also asked for Rs50 crore to equip the city police force with high-speed petrol boats, concrete jetties, two control rooms, and explosive scanners.
A senior MSRDC official said the corporation had sent request letters to the Public Works Department (PWD), which is the parent ministry of the corporation. “We have been in touch with PWD officials,” he said.
It is not just the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, but all major infrastructure projects (metro and the monorail) can be attacked. Ratnakar Gaikwad, metropolitan commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, however, said it was the police’s responsibility to guard all infrastructure projects.
“We have sent two of our officials to the Federal Transport Authority in the US for training,” he said. “The FTA will give them valuable inputs. But the final responsibility is with the Mumbai Police.”
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