The fishermen in Worli are not allowing civic body staff and its contractor to study the proposed location of the piers for the project. Officials said the design can be finalised only once the survey is completed. Work on finalising the design for the BMC’s ambitious coastal road project has come to a halt with fishermen in Worli not allowing civic body staff and its contractor to study the proposed location of the piers for the project. Officials said the design can be finalised only once the survey is completed. For the last two weeks, the Koli community in Worli has stalled the work on a seaside survey. Speaking to The Indian Express, Vijay Patil from the Worli Koliwada, said: We have told municipal officials that unless they assure us that the gap between two pillars on the proposed coastal road is widened, we will not allow them to work. As per the civic body’s plan, the gap would be 60 m. That is too narrow. During high wind velocity or at low and high tide, we will face difficulty in wading through the sea for fishing. There will be always a risk of the boats colliding with the pillar in strong winds. The fishing community had taken exception to the coastal road project since the time it was proposed. The community, which enjoys the support of the Shiv Sena, was assured by party chief Uddhav Thackeray that their concerns will be allayed. However, the community that fears adverse effects on its livelihood has still objected to the big ticket infrastructure project undertaken by the Sena-ruled BMC. At the same time, local Sena leaders, too, have backed the protesting fisher folk. Shiv Sena needs to clear its stand and resolve the issue at the earliest if the project work is to continue uniterrupted. A senior official from the coastal road department said, The work of a survey on the rock side is on, but fishermen are not allowing us to do a geo-technical survey for exact pier positions in the sea. This will affect finalising the design of the alignment and cause a delay. A crucial interchange between Bandra Worli Sea link and the coastal road project is supposed to come up at the site in Worli where the work has been halted. Patil, meanwhile, said that the current proposed location of the pillar could destroy crucial fish breeding spots. Already, Bandra-Worli Sea link has affected our business. If the project continues, then our livelihood will be wiped out. The BMC and the fishermen community are at loggerheads over the Rs 12,000-crore project that aims at cutting travel time between the suburbs and south Mumbai. Fishermen have been demanding the distance between two pillars be at least 120 m. Last week, Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar had visited Worli Koliwada and met local fishermen. Mahadeshwar had promised to resolve this issue. Work on the first phase of the project began on December 17 after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray conducted a ground-breaking ceremony. Officials are now trying to rope in deputy mayor Hemangi Worlikar to help intercede with the fishermen of Worli. Earlier, Sena leader Worlikar had supported the fishermen and also demanded that the gap between pillars be widened.