{
  "id": 15162483,
  "title": "Nana Patekar Or Smit Machchar? Row Erupts Over Naming Of Mumbai's Newly Built Vidyavihar Bridge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/nana-patekar-or-smit-machchar-row-erupts-over-naming-of-mumbais-newly",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-17T08:45:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/nana-patekar-or-smit-machchar-row-erupts-over-naming-of-mumbais-newly-built-vidyavihar-bridge"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A controversy has erupted over the naming of Mumbai's Vidyavihar bridge. Two political parties, Shiv Sena (UBT) and BJP, are at odds over the bridge's name. Shiv Sena (UBT) activists have demanded that the bridge be named Padma Shri Nana Patekar Setu, while BJP MLA Parag Shah sought to name it after Captain Smit Machchhar. The bridge, which connects Ramchandra Chemburkar Marg and Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, was constructed to replace an older bridge and includes railway crossings. Nana Patekar, a renowned actor, passed away in 2008, while Captain Machchhar was hailed as a hero after thwarting a hijacking in 2011. However, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ganesh Khankar dismissed the controversy, stating that the Sena is seeking attention.",
  "summary": "Mumbai: A controversy has erupted over the naming of the newly constructed East-West Vidyavihar bridge next to Vidyavihar station in Mumbai, ahead of its opening to traffic. The Shiv Sena (UBT) recently put up a banner on the structure demanding that it be named after late actor Nana Patekar, days after BJP MLA Parag Shah sought to name it after Captain Smit Machchhar. Shah had written to the…",
  "key_points": [
    "Shiv Sena (UBT) demands bridge named after Nana Patekar",
    "BJP MLA proposes naming bridge after Captain Smit Machchhar",
    "Nana Patekar died in 2008, Machchhar thwarted hijacking in 2011"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times",
        "title": "Nana Patekar or Smit Machchhar? Row erupts in Mumbai over naming Vidyavihar bridge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/nana-patekar-or-smit-machchhar-row-erupts-in-mumbai-over-naming",
        "published": "2026-10-17T08:55:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}