Bhiwandi: The government on Monday sanctioned an additional ₹100 crore for the construction of jetties and terminals at Anjur-Dive, Kalyan, and Dombivli as part of the Kalyan-Vasai water transport project under the Sagar Mala initiative. This comes after an initial allocation of ₹200 crore for the jetties.
Former junior panchayati raj minister Kapil Patil, who first raised the demand for this transport mode in 2014, stated that the additional funds are part of phase 2 of the project. The water transport system is expected to be executed in three phases.
Phase 1 will connect Thane, Kalyan, and Vasai via a 50 km inland waterway, aiming to ease congestion for lakhs of daily commuters who currently rely on road and rail transport. The route is designed to include nine stopovers, enhancing connectivity and streamlining passenger and cargo logistics across the region.
The initiative aligns with the government’s broader Sagar Mala program, which aims to improve port connectivity and promote water-based transportation, thereby boosting economic growth and reducing traffic on conventional transport networks.
—Pradeep Gupta