Authorities have failed to keep a check on local scrap dealers, who have returned to pile up their trash on the adjacent CST Road, causing a huge bottle neck; MMRDA officials had cleared the road only last year
Junk and scrap have made a comeback at CST Road beside the recently opened LBS Marg flyover at Kurla and authorities have turned a blind eye to the violations that have been causing several problems to motorists.
The illegally parked junk vehicles at CST Road, beside LBS Marg flyover, have been here for more than a year
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The LBS Marg flyover at Kurla was thrown open to the public in August 2012 by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), after being inaugurated by CM Prithviraj Chavan. Owners of scrap vehicles and junk cars have started parking their cars on both sides of CST Road parallel to the flyover, leading to bottlenecks and traffic jams during peak hours both in the morning and evening.
Even before the flyover was being used, local scrap dealers from Kurla were using the space below the flyover and the ramp of the structure to illegally park their trash material. The CM had specifically instructed the MMRDA and other agencies to ensure that open space under and around the flyover was maintained properly and was saved from encroachment. It was also brought to the notice of senior MMRDA officials, who had assured people that they would take care of the problem, once the road was operational.
But the MMRDA has failed spectacularly at this job, since the road has literally become a junkyard, leaving very little space for vehicles that are actually drive-worthy to move ahead. Motorists say this practice has been going on for more than a year. The agency had managed to get the illegal parking removed after the flyover opened last year, but the scrap is back – this includes old cars, metal sheets etc - causing a huge traffic on either side of the road.
“When the flyover started, the nearby CST Road was cleared of scrap materials. The practice has started yet again and travelling on this road has become a nightmare. I don’t know why the authorities are not taking action. The road that passes parallel to the LBS flyover is a major bottleneck, because of which the commute from Kalina towards LBS Marg becomes very difficult and time-consuming,” said a motorist Akshay Kamat.
The 565-metre long and 17-metre wide LBS Marg flyover provides two lanes each for up and down traffic. The flyover helps more than 50 thousand commuters avoid the crowded LBS junction and reach Kurla station easily, thereby saving invaluable time and fuel daily. It cost the MMRDA Rs 16 crore to build the flyover, which is a part of the crucial Santacruz-Chembur Link Road a missing link that is being constructed under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project.
MMRDA says
MMRDA Joint Project Director Dilip Kawatkar clarified, “We will look into the matter and necessary measures will be taken accordingly, so that commuters don’t waste time being stuck in traffic.”
Rs 16 cr
Cost of the LBS Marg flyoveru00a0
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