‘Patch Hi Patch’ On Mumbai’s Atal Setu: Jr Thackeray Reacts, Contractor Fined ₹1 Cr | Viral Video

Mumbai’s Atal Setu, also known as the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), is India’s longest sea bridge which stretches 21.8 km in total with 16.5 km running over the sea. The bridge connects Sewri in South Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai.

Designed to reduce travel time between the two areas to just 15–20 minutes, the bridge came into the spotlight after a video gained attention online. The clip showed certain parts of the bridge with visible damage and repair work just after a year of its inauguration. Following this, a penalty of Rs 1 crore was imposed on the contractor responsible for the defects.

Video Highlights Road Damage

In the clip, shared on X , a man is moving along the road and points out the multiple patches and road barriers.

“Ye

Atal Setu hai. Yaha aaye din kaam chalu rehta hai, kuch na kuch kaam chalu rehta hai (This is Atal Setu. Work keeps going on here every day, something or the other is always under repair),” he remarks while showing ongoing work and the machines used to fix the surface.

The man also highlights the sections where the road appears patched repeatedly. “Pura bridge in logo ne barabar banya hi nahi hai. Khadde…sab jagah patch hi patch lagaye hai (The entire bridge hasn’t been built properly. Potholes… everywhere there are just patches),” the man adds.

The caption shared along with the post reads, “Condition of a year old Atal Setu.”

Watch The Video Here

Condition of a year old Atal setu pic.twitter.com/z140MVvI5t

— Roads of India (@Roads_of_India) September 18, 2025

MMRDA Steps In

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) responded after the video gained widespread attention. In a tweet reply, the authority mentioned that a penalty of Rs 1 crore has been imposed on the contractor for “these defects.”

“The minor surface distress seen on a few stretches of Atal Setu (at near km 11, 15 and 16 on Navi Mumbai Bound carriageway) during the ongoing monsoon is largely due to exceptionally heavy rains and continuous traffic flow,” MMRDA wrote.

“MMRDA has already initiated immediate remedial measures. Instead of repairing only small spots, longer continuous stretches are being resurfaced with bitumen to maintain uniformity and avoid bumps, ensuring smoother rides for commuters. Parallelly, Mastic Asphalt patching is underway to keep the carriageway safe and serviceable under wet conditions,” it added.

The authority said that once the monsoon ends and the hot mix plants resume operations, permanent resurfacing will be carried out using high-quality dense bituminous macadam (DBM) and asphalt concrete (AC) layers.

“MMRDA remains committed to world-class standards and timely maintenance, ensuring Atal Setu continues to serve as a safe, reliable, and iconic link for Mumbaikars,” it concluded.

The minor surface distress seen on a few stretches of Atal Setu (at near km 11, 15 and 16 on Navi Mumbai Bound carriageway) during the ongoing monsoon is largely due to exceptionally heavy rains and continuous traffic flow.

MMRDA has already initiated immediate remedial…

— MMRDA (@MMRDAOfficial) September 18, 2025

Social Media Criticism

The MMRDA’s explanation did not sit well with many users online who questioned the claim that heavy monsoon rains caused the damage.

One user commented, “If this patchwork is ‘World Class standard’ to you. Then we don’t know which standard you are following. It rains in every nation that exists, why don’t we see such kind of pathetic patchwork in other countries? The standard you are following must be the lowest.”

Another said, “Lmao. I’ve seen roads abroad during heavy rains and not a single piece of tarmac has come off it so please don’t give excuses of heavy rains as it should withstand different weather conditions!!”

“As if the monsoon or rain is an unpredicted phenomenon in Mumbai? What an excuse, traffic flow of course would be there as it’s an important connecting road. Poor QA and QC lead to all this in this much short span, tells the level of corruption,” someone else remarked.

“Oh…exceptional heavy rains are new in this region. Great response by you. No shame of the mediocre quality of work…continue in your journey of third-class nation building,” read another comment.

Aaditya Thackeray Reacts To Atal Setu Condition

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, reacted to the bridge’s condition. He noted that around 82 per cent of the bridge was completed when his party was in government in Maharashtra. He pointed out that the remaining work, including road surfacing, took two more years, with the bridge being inaugurated after a six-month delay.

He criticised the current BJP-led government in Maharashtra for overseeing the final stages of the project.