Risking life to keep traffic flowing on flooded NH-48

A traffic police personnel works on the flooded highway. Pics/Hanif Patel

Traffic officers from the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police have been facing a tough time at work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway during heavy spells of rain. They have to stand in close to waist-high water on the flooded roads to regulate the traffic. Roads near Sasunavghar on the highway get waterlogged and most drivers have to slow down. Many vehicles even break down.

Sources in the traffic police department alleged that the culvert under NH-48, right after the Versova bridge towards Gujarat, has been blocked by encroachers, causing the flooding of the highway. In addition, encroachments by local dhabas, etc. have also blocked the natural nullahs that are the outlets for the rainwater.

‘VVCMC did nothing'

"The Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway near Sasunavghar gets flooded as the natural flow of rainwater is blocked by encroachers. We had been raising these concerns with the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) from before the onset of monsoon. But they did nothing to clear the culvert under the highway. Now, the natural flow of rainwater from east to west on the highway is disturbed, flooding the road," said a senior traffic cop.

Another reason for the flooding is also the uncollected garbage in nullahs and alongside the highway

"Our men have to stand in waist-high water to regulate the traffic. We have to risk our lives to regulate the traffic due to the inaction of VVCMC officials. The municipal corporation should have taken action against the illegal encroachments along the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. The dhabas and illegal joints have deliberately cemented the culvert to stop the natural flow of rainwater that comes from the east side," said the officer.

"When the vehicular movement gets affected due to the flooding, everybody holds traffic officers responsible. But none of them wonders why the roads are flooded," he added.

A source in Sasunavghar told mid-day that the encroachers have reduced the width of the natural nullahs. "Somewhere, the natural drainage system has also been diverted by the encroachers for their vested interests. The rainwater accumulates on the highway resulting in major traffic jams up to Dahisar toll naka," said the source.

The municipal authorities used machinery to widen the natural outlets for the rainwater

‘Acted against a few...'

Deputy Municipal Commissioner of VVCMC Pankaj Patil said, "We have taken action against a few encroachers at Sasunavghar this week. Also, the natural drainage system is being cleaned to reduce flooding on the highway. We will also use dewatering pumps to remove water from the highway to smoothen the traffic."

The tahsildar of Vasai, Avinash Kosti told mid-day that Sasunavghar has witnessed heavy rainfall upto 200 mm on Thursday. "We have also received a few complaints regarding mangroves encroachment and illegal landfilling in CRZ areas. We are working on the complaints," Kosti said.

Collector of Palghar district Govind Bodake told mid-day that he has asked the VVCMC as well as National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to jointly work to resolve the waterlogging issue.

200mm
Rainfall Sasunavghar received on Thursday