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Nana Patekar or Captain Smit Machchhar: Naming row hits Mumbai’s newly built Vidyavihar bridge

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 17 Oct 2026 40 min ago

New Delhi: A fresh political disagreement has cropped up in Mumbai over what to name the newly built East-West Vidyavihar bridge near Vidyavihar railway station. The confrontation involves the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), both pushing completely different names for the public infrastructure project.

The issue picked up steam after Shiv Sena (UBT) party workers put up banners demanding that the structure be called Padma Shri Nana Patekar Setu. Following up on this public push, a delegation from the party met Mumbai mayor Ritu Tawde earlier this week to hand over an official letter requesting that the bridge honour the veteran actor.

However, the proposal clashed directly with a prior suggestion made by BJP MLA Parag Shah. Shah had already written to the authorities just days earlier, pitching that the overbridge should be named after flydubai pilot Captain Smit Machchhar. Machchhar, an Indian commercial pilot, earned international praise after averting a major aviation disaster during a flight heading to Tel Aviv.

BMC leadership responds to naming clash

Reacting to the demand by Shiv Sena (UBT), Ganesh Khankar, leader of the house in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), claimed the opposition party was stirring up an issue simply to take political credit.

Khankar made it clear that while Nana Patekar’s contribution to Indian cinema is well recognised, a bridge was not the right medium for it. He pointed out that naming a large theatre or an entire theatre complex after the veteran actor would serve as a far more suitable tribute, as reported by PTI.

Key details of the Vidyavihar bridge project

The newly constructed two-lane bridge runs across a total length of 650 metres. It creates a vital east-west link between Ramchandra Chemburkar Marg on Vidyavihar station’s eastern end and Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg on the western side in Ghatkopar.

According to data shared by the BMC, the structure includes a 100-metre section built directly over railway tracks. The remaining span consists of approach roads covering 220 metres on the east and 330 metres on the west. Alongside road connectivity, the overall project covers links to station footpaths, reconstructed ticket booking counters, staircases, and an updated station master’s office.

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