Now, khataras are slowing down work on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway

Abandoned vehicles or khataras, along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway, particularly at Sativali, Pelhar, and Chinchoti, pose a hindrance to the infra firm's current white topping project. Despite efforts to notify police through letters, their requests have been ignored, the firm alleged.

Daily commuters, ambulances carrying patients to Mumbai, school children, as well as people heading to the airport from Palghar district would often get stuck in huge traffic jams due to the ongoing concreting work on the six-lane NH-48. In a bid to alleviate traffic woes, the infrastructure firm has halved its daily white topping work.

Daily commuters have to bear the brunt of dust

Ashok Sharma, managing director of Nirmal Buildinfra Private Limited, which is undertaking the work on the existing bituminous carriageway and service road, told mid-day, "We have been following up with the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police for the last three to four months requesting them to remove the abandoned vehicles so that we can seamlessly undertake white topping work. We have also written multiple letters to the police, but the vehicles have not been moved," Sharma said. "There are long stretches of 400-metres at Pelhar, Sativali and Chinchoti where abandoned vehicles are gathering dust," he added.

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Dust storm adds pollution woes

Due to the ongoing project, daily commuters have to bear the brunt of dust and gravel which further reduces visibility triggering massive inconvenience to people at large. The strong wind adds to the commuters' woes on NH-48.

Khataras line the stretch of the highway

Meanwhile, a senior National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official requesting anonymity said, "Many abandoned, damaged, and under repair vehicles have been carelessly parked on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway and the service lanes. This not only poses a threat to road users but also causes massive traffic jams or slows down vehicular movement on the NH-48. These vehicles are a hazard on the highway where road users often complain about traffic snarls. But the MBVV police are taking no steps to remove these vehicles."

Issue not raised

The MBVV police commissioner Madhukar Pandey said, "We had a multiagency coordination meeting last fortnight but they or nobody else raised such issues." "The infrastructure firm can simply inform us before they undertake white topping work so that we can remove the abandoned, accidental, and seized vehicles, whose auctioning is underway," said a traffic official.

No space for truckers to rest

A transporter Harbans Singh Nanade, spokesperson of All India Vahan Chalak Malak Mahasangh, said, "The truckers cover long distances and are bound to take rest. But there is no dedicated lane for the truckers on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway where they can park their vehicles and relax their muscles."

Reduced daily work

The traffic congestion forced authorities concerned to conduct back-to-back meetings to smoothen the flow on the busy six-lane highway. "We were told in the meeting to reduce the workflow so that the inconvenience of people can be reduced," said Sharma.

Traffic snarls on the HH48. Pics/Hanif Patel

In December, the highway remained standstill after the infra firm had kickstarted the work. To avoid the jam, many vehicles on the highway had entered Vasai city where the arterial roads were blocked. After facing massive brickbats from all the quarters, the infra firm had to suspend their project for a few days in December-January.

"Before the onset of monsoon, the NHAI wanted the firm to complete white topping work equivalent to 75-kms (six-lane) by March 31, but the firm had promised to complete work equivalent to 55 kms on the six-lane carriageway, However, now only 25 kms will be completed," added Sharma.

Struggling for cops' approval

The contract amount is Rs 553 crore and the work is already commenced by the contractor on multiple fronts. The project also includes three Vehicular Underpasses (VUPs) at Delhi Darba, Pandurangwadi, and at Sativalli to avoid accidents on the highway. The infra firm alleged that they are yet to get approval from the traffic department of MBVV police to make Vehicular Underpasses (VUPs) at Delhi Darbar and Thakur Mall.

"We have been following up for the last four months with the MBVV traffic police, but the cops have been delaying giving approval citing reasons like VIP movement due to upcoming LS polls, Maratha morchas, ongoing laying of water pipelines, transport strike, etc," Sharma said. The infra firm is confident to meet the target by May 2025, but the huge influx of traffic, reduction in their progressive work, and delay in administrative decisions are likely to push the completion of work beyond the set limit of 18 months, for which the work started in mid-December last year.