The Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) traffic police have been facing a tough time at work on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway during heavy rainfall

The police 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 the vehicle

Sources from 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 flood on the highway

“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 traffic officer

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”