Maharashtra chief minister Fadnavis throws open Sindoor Bridge in Mumbai
Devendra Fadnavis
on Thursday inaugurated the newly built Sindoor Bridge, formerly known as Carnac Bridge, in South Mumbai. He said the renaming marks a symbolic break from colonial-era legacies.
Both the deputy CMs, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, did not attend the inauguration event.
In the past, the bridge wasknown and referred to as as Carnac bridge after James Rivett Carnac, the governor of the Bombay Presidency from the year 1839 to 1842.
According to History of the Municipal Corporation of the City of Bombay by L W Michael (1902), the bridge was built at the joint expense of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) and the municipal corporation.
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Speaking at the event, Fadnavis said, "For many years, this bridge was known as Carnac Bridge — named after a British governor but according to documented history, especially as referenced in writings by Prabodhankar Thackeray, this governor was involved in injustices against Indian rulers like Chhatrapati Pratapsingh Maharaj and Nagpur's Mudhoji Raje. Therefore these black pages of history need to be wiped off.
"
He added that the renaming was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of erasing symbols of colonial subjugation from public spaces in independent India.
Fadnavis also said that the bridge has now been named 'Sindoor Bridge' to commemorate the bravery of the Indian armed forces during '
Operation Sindoor
' — a mission in which Indian forces precisely targeted terrorist bases across the border in Pakistan. "This name was proposed by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker and BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar, and I thank the BMC for approving it," Fadnavis said.
The reconstruction of the bridge, which spans over a key railway corridor is in a heavily congested part of south Mumbai. Fadnavis lauded the civic body for completing the project despite the logistical hurdles of working above active railway lines and in a dense urban neighbourhood.
The original Carnac Bridge, a colonial-era structure built in the 1860s, was dismantled in the year 2022 after it was declared unsafe. The new Sindoor Bridge is expected to significantly ease traffic movement in the busy CST–Masjid Bunder belt.
The new bridge spans a total length of 342 metres, including a 70-metre segment constructed directly over the railway lines.
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