Mumbai: Chandivali residents perform ‘Sadbuddhi Havan’ seeking BMC action on long-pending road

An unusual demonstration was organised seeking ldquodivine interventionrdquo to impart ldquogood sense and wisdom to the BMCrdquo on Sunday afternoon Residents of Synchronicity CHSL in Chandivli performed a ldquoSadbuddhi Havanrdquo as their last resort to remind the civic body of the longpending development of the proposed 700metrelong stretch connecting JVLR to Chandivli Farm RoadSandeep MaheshwarilsquoBMC Jhoot Bolorsquo campaignAccording to Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association CCWA the organiser the event marked the third anniversary of their ldquoBMC Jhoot Bolordquo campaign which was started after the BMC failed to deliver on its promises In August 2023 a tender worth Rs 2778 crore was floated by BMC for the project but residents say no development followedpopcorn number2023 descYear tender was floated for the project classDefaultBMC responsemidday reached out to the civic body through its official public relations channel with queries seeking an official response to the reasons for the delay and what the residents can expect next but did not receive a response by the time of going to the pressThe patch where the road is supposed to be built PicsSatej ShindeOrganiser SpeakMandeep Singh Makkar founder CCWAldquoWe have gathered here peacefully with limited participants on private premises ensuring that there is no unnecessary lawandorder situation This was the only resort left We hope this lsquohavan poojarsquo brings us some divine intervention to help the cause Chandivli just canrsquot bear it anymore private development has been permitted and continues to grow to date with many projects upcoming but authorities have failed to fulfil their parallel development mandatesrdquo He addedldquoWe have raised the concern multiple times with corporators MLAs MPs and municipal officials but we have been unable to see any development of the proposed road after a 200metre stretch was constructed last in 2021 That stretch is of no use and serves as parking for private establishments in the areardquoVoicesRohit Dixit pandit Hindu priestlsquoI have been a pandit for the last 15 years now I help people with a list of poojas but this is a first for me as well This should definitely help the cause of so many of the area residents regarding this roadrsquoNilesh Wakode 52 a residentlsquoI have been residing in Chandivli since 2000 the traffic issue wasnrsquot this bad then Rapid development followed since and the main roads responsible for accessibility didnrsquot get any significant upgrades or additions The result has been traffic congestion as soon as the day starts with school buses and it worsens in peak office hours The proposed road is a necessityrsquoSandeep Maheshwari 45 a residentlsquoI shifted my residence from Kurla to Chandivli 15 years ago My workplace is still in Kurla and I commute daily Traffic has worsened over the years but this single largest wide road of the area which was announced five years ago is yet to be built Even senior citizens struggle due to prolonged time to reach hospitalsrsquoSukumar Panikar 61 a residentlsquoAlong with residential space many commercial spaces including offices have come up in the area The commuters who come from their offices also suffer Many autos and taxis tend to refuse fares of those from the Sakinaka metro station with their destination inside Chandivli they hate the extended trip time and getting stuck in trafficrsquoAmar Singh 62 autorickshaw driverlsquoI have 30 years of experience as an autorickshaw driver trips in this area have worsened over the years The lack of a new road to decongest the limited main lanes cost the riders twice in waiting time and simultaneously we drivers lose out on running faresrsquo