20 July,2021 07:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Gaurav Sarkar
Vehicles in a traffic jam at Achutrao Patwardhan Marg, Lokhandwala on Monday evening. Pic/Shadab Khan
The closure of the northbound stretch of Andheri's New Link Road from Indian Oil Nagar to Chitrakoot grounds - one of the most traversed routes taken by people going to Lokhandwala and Oshiwara - has led to nightmarish traffic from Kokilaben hospital to RTO junction. The road will be closed till the end of August due to Metro work.
From five to seven minutes, the journey has become a 30-minute ordeal for residents. In the recent heavy rainfall, it has increased to 45 minutes, with peak hours of 6 pm to 9 pm seeing stationary cars fruitlessly honking between Four Bungalows and Lokhandwala.
Saalim Khan, 31, a Lokhandwala resident said, "I have to travel home via Four Bungalows, which is always jammed in the evenings. It's especially bad outside Kokilaben Hospital where cars use a gap in the divider to make reckless U-turns. Even on my scooter, it takes me 30 minutes to reach home."
Getting out of the area via Four Bungalows is equally worse. The crucial RTO junction, a crossroad, has been dug up for repairs of sewage lines and sees massive bottlenecks.
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"The sewage line work blocks almost 70 per cent of the RTO signal at Achuytrao Patwardhan Marg, causing a massive traffic backlog all the way up to Kokilaben hospital," said Anu Murthy, member of the Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens' Association (LOCA). "This is causing a lot of agony to commuters as there is no alternative. The high fuel cost is also burning a hole in our pockets," Murthy added.
"There is no sense of urgency to reopen the northbound stretch. I hope the closure does not extend beyond August," said Vivek Golani, another LOCA member.
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An official from K West ward's Maintenance Department said, "There is work of micro-tunnelling of the sewage line going on at the RTO signal, which is a time-consuming process. It is a connecting line that goes to the Versova pumping station. I am aware of the traffic problem. The team is trying to finish the tunnelling work as soon as possible. However, it is difficult to carry out micro-tunnelling in the rains because when water goes inside again it has to be de-watered."
