Residents and officials lament the lack of coordination in ongoing infra projects
Traffic jam at Mulund Junction. Pic/Sameer Markande
The ongoing construction work on the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) has led two severe congestion at the Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar Chowk, also known as Mulund Junction, causing inconvenience to commuters and residents in the area. The situation is worsened by various factors such as illegal parking, dumping of debris due to the construction work on the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, garbage dumping, ongoing Metro construction on Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg, and the presence of illegal hawkers along the stretch.
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"The construction work on the GMLR, aimed at improving connectivity between the two areas, has been a long-standing project. However, the lack of proper planning and coordination has resulted in chaos at the Mulund Junction. The narrow lanes and congestion have made the area prone to traffic jams, raising concerns," said a resident on condition of anonymity.
Aashim Sheikh, tempo driver (right) Ramsingh Pal, tempo driver
He added, "This chowk poses as a critical junction where the GMLR and LBS Marg, which are both arterial roads, meet. Taking up construction projects on both the roads together has caused a significant bottleneck. The road coming from Nahur railway station towards Airoli, which is the Goregaon Mulund Link Road construction patch, meets LBS Marg. Cars are illegally parked along the stretch, which consumes a complete lane. In addition to this, one lane is barricaded for the ongoing construction work on GMLR."
"The situation is further compounded by illegal parking, reducing the available space for traffic flow. The presence of debris and garbage dumped along the roadside adds to the congestion and poses a health hazard," said Aashim Sheikh, a tempo driver.
"The ongoing Metro construction work in the area adds to the congestion as it further reduces the available space for traffic movement. Additionally, the presence of illegal hawkers along the stretch adds to the chaos, as their stalls further narrow down the already congested road," said Ramsingh Pal, another tempo driver.
Raju Bhujbal, DCP central (traffic) said, "We had a traffic chowki at the junction which had to be demolished and shifted some distance back towards Fortis hospital due to the construction work of GMLR. The construction work is causing huge trouble to commuters and residents alike. The junction was smoothly functioning before the construction work on both the roads was taken up. This infrastructural construction work is important but should be completed soon so that the condition at this major junction is relieved."
He added, "We were not willing to relocate the traffic chowki from the junction as it was placed at a strategic location allowing us to monitor the junction continuously and regulate the traffic jam during peak hours. Now that the chowki is shifted, we have stationed officials from the Mulund Traffic Division continuously in order to regulate the junction for traffic jams caused due to the construction project."
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