Hours after opening, Atal Setu becomes picnic spot; 200+ motorists fined

Netizens express anger as photos of people littering and flouting highway rules on the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) emerge on social media

Within days of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, images and videos of people littering and flouting rules on the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) flooded social media platforms. The newly inaugurated bridge saw thousands of vehicles, with picnicking commuters taking selfies and turning it into a tourist spot, angering netizens who demanded action from the traffic police.

The MTHL, officially called the Atal Setu Nhava Sheva Sea Link, or Atul Setu for short, is India's longest sea-bridge that became open to motorists on Saturday, January 13. According to numbers released by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), around 9,000 vehicles took to the sea link within the first 12 hours of its opening and more than 45,000 in the first 24 hours. The road, which has a speed limit of 100 kmph, saw people stopping to take selfies and enjoy picnics.

A page on X (formerly Twitter) called Mumbai Matters shared posts and pictures of people taking selfies, litter on the road, and traffic police standing by and not interfering.

One post read, "More visuals of Idiocracy & Madness at MTHL... Seems like the latest Picnic Spot.... Have a look at the parked car & also the Mumbai Traffic Police and  Navi Mumbai police Police Van watching the Selfie takers & doing nothing."

Following the online outrage, on Sunday, traffic police took charge and reportedly penalised around 264 motorists for unnecessary stops and warned of criminal offenses, according to a report by The Indian Express (IE). Motorists had to pay penalties of Rs 500 each for affecting vehicular movement on the roads. Mumbai and Navi Mumbai police have also warned that criminal cases may be registered against motorists if they stop their vehicles on the road.

According to IE, Mumbai Police carried out a special drive to establish "nakabandi" at 108 places on Saturday night. Over 6,000 vehicles were checked for violating traffic rules, 1,869 bikers were penalised for not wearing helmets, and another 255 for riding triples.

For rash driving, 85 cases were registered, and 153 vehicles impounded. Moreover, 138 motorists were booked under the Motor Vehicle Act, for allegedly driving in the wrong direction and 20 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol were found.

The 21.8 km-long sea link connects Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai to Sewri in Mumbai, with 16.5 km of the bridge's length being over the sea. Constructed at the cost of approximately Rs 17,840 crore, the trans harbour link has six lanes, and reduces travel time from 1.5 hours to around 20 minutes. It was inaugurated on Friday and open to the public on Saturday morning.