Mumbai: After SCLR, now JVLR torn apart

A 1.5-km stretch is riddled with potholes on JVLR. Pic/Rian Khorana

Commuters have been using a 1.5 km road connecting the Western Express Highway to the Eastern Express Highway on the JVLR, at risk to life and limb, and property. The construction of the Metro line 6 has left it riddled with potholes, and the narrow road has been made further dangerous due to the presence of construction material. It is the route to the SEEPZ Industrial Zone, a lifeline for daily wage workers. Hence the road often faces traffic jams.

This reporter walked the entire stretch and saw bikers fall and car bumpers touch, as every driver/rider faced a challenge to navigate, on Friday. "A motorist slipped on the line of the road which was higher than the rest of the road. Part of his limbs went under a bus, a month ago. But he survived. After that I get paranoid even seeing minor slips. I get scared to even help the fallen people. After that I get paranoid even seeing minor slips. I get scared to even help the fallen people," said Akash Bandarge, a paan wala near the stretch, who claims to have hardly any business as commuters don't stop due to the rush.

Perils of another kind

Raju Baburao Kadke, a factory worker, claimed he got fired due to the bad road. "I used to get late due to the state of the road, and reach upto 2 hours late to work. Now since I am out of a job, my children have voluntarily dropped out of school to earn money to pay the bills. We don't have electricity as I couldn't pay for it on time, all thanks to this road," he said.

A biker gets up after slipping on the stretch. Pic/Rian Khorana

Talking to mid-day, Traffic Police in-charge of MIDC division, Sahebrao Sonu Sangle, claimed commuters unfairly blame them. "People abuse us. But we can't do much as construction of the road is not in our hands. At times we fill the potholes ourselves and even help push cars out when they get stuck in them," said Sangle, who has been with the department since 1988.

Official speak

Asked about the various issues regarding the stretch, Metropolitan Commissioner of MMRDA, Dr Sanjay Mukherjee only said the road from Adani sub-station at SEEPZ to Milind Nagar is narrow, compared to other parts of the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road (JVLR). It has not yet been widened. Additionally, the road at Milind Nagar bridge ahead is also narrow with only 2 lanes, compared to SEEPZ village road and a Powai road which have a minimum of 3 lanes on the Northbound carriageway. This bridge is also skewed, and the north side carriageway has not been widened yet, contributing to traffic congestion.

"There are some potholes between Milind Nagar and L&T flyover, slowing traffic. These potholes are being attended to on a daily
basis to minimize inconvenience to road users. The Metro barricades in this area have been brought in as close as possible while coming from SEEPZ to Powai," Mukherjee said.

A commuter, Jagjeet Singh, said the frequent stops of his vehicle due to the traffic jam eats 50% more petrol than it should. "I tweeted once about a patch and they filled it up, but again after a few days we were back to square one. Once a client was waiting for me for one hour to close a deal but the unpredictability of the road made me miss it, I incurred a loss of '12 lakh because of this," he said.

‘He died due to traffic'

"My friend was getting breathless during the COVID-19 second wave but as we couldn't find an ambulance, we had to take him in the rickshaw. He died on the way due to the delay caused by the traffic on the stretch," another commuter, Bhanudas Sakte, said.