Mumbai: Kopar bridge closure inspires rap song

Sources said the bridge was in need of repair and had to be shut down to assess the damage and restoration needed. (Source: YouTube)

The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) on Sunday shut down traffic on the Kopar road over-bridge in Dombivli. Sources said the bridge was in need of repair and had to be shut down to assess the damage and restoration needed. The closure of this bridge is expected to compound traffic woes since the Patri bridge was shut over a year ago, residents claim.

In light of this closure, however, Ravi Singh (21), a resident of Kalyan, has found his moment in the sun. His rap song on traffic issues faced by residents of Kalyan has been shared widely on social media. “The problem of commuting to and from the station made me want to do something to highlight this,” he said. Singh spends over an hour to travel a distance of 3 km from his house to the Kalyan station everyday. “Some of my friends who had made pages and groups of Kalyan residents on Facebook kept telling me about their problems. If we don’t bring this up, there won’t be a solution.”

The song, titled ‘Patri Pool Kab Banega’ (When Will Patri Bridge be Made?) is performed by Singh and the video has been directed by his friends who have used footage of various protests staged against the under-construction bridge. “I want to talk about traffic woes while attracting political attention,” Singh said. The song talks about the upcoming election and how the winner from Kalyan will be someone who can give assurance that the bridge work is completed quickly. The song also talks about increase in auto-rickshaw fares.