Mumbai's traffic nightmare is ruining weekend plans of citizens

Traffic congestion on Mahalaxmi road on a Sunday morning

Such is the traffic situation in Mumbai that a poll conducted by the Twitter handle 'Roads of Mumbai' has revealed that 88 per cent of the 718 people who participated in it had to cancel their plans of attending family functions and events because of the city's chock-a-block condition. The poll, conducted by Andheri resident Nisarg Mehta, was based on the question - 'Have you recently cancelled your plan to attend a family function or any event in Mumbai because of traffic issues'? It started on August 17 and continued for a week till August 24.

According to data from the poll, while most people said that they had to cancel their plans due to severe traffic issues, only 12 per cent of the participants disagreed on this point. Many citizens have even shared their experiences.

As waste materials from the sea spill onto the road along Marine Drive, traffic moves at snail's pace

Speaking to mid-day, Mehta, who runs the 'Roads of Mumbai' Twitter handle, said, "It's good that the government has announced new projects like sea links and bridges to solve commuting problems, but those will take years to get completed. We need some immediate measures to ease traffic movement in the city."

Suggesting some ideas to deal with the problem, Mehta further said, "Discouraging people from buying new cars, fixing roads soon after monsoon gets over, removing paver blocks from roads and highways, not allowing people to park vehicles in areas where Metro work is going on and promoting BEST buses are some of the steps that can be taken to solve the traffic issues."

Illegal parking leads to traffic jam at S V road in Bandra. File Pics

Responding to the question, a resident Shreyas Vidwans said, "Reaching office and returning home daily is an achievement in itself. Don't need any other plans to spoil my weekends."

Another Twiiterati Sameer Raje said, "Every time you step out of your building, it's an event. Why blame only the government? Even we as irresponsible drivers are the cause." Highlighting the pathetic condition of the roads on the outskirts of Mumbai, another citizen, Ankit Doshi, posted several pictures of the road that leads to Airoli, a hub of commercial establishments. He said, "MIDC_india can you please do something about these roads. My pregnant wife has to travel everyday to work by the route."

Fighting traffic woes
Andheri resident Nisarg Mehta, who runs the 'Roads of Mumbai' handle, is a professional graphic designer. The group, which has more than 9,200 followers, usually highlights issues related to traffic, potholes and bad roads.

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